Agent of Death
by jibbsloversunited
Summary: The 6th offering in the AU Jibbs series - written by Elflordsmistress.
1. One

**Author's Note:**

Just a really quick note that the title isn't a typo and it isn't to be taken at face value either. Agent here means _instrument_ or _bringer_ – it's not one of the team.

And yes, this is going to be rather angsty – but then it's a plot-driven story and they usually tend to be. Well, mine do. All I ask is .. go with the flow instead of getting upset with me?

__________________________________

Ziva walked into the bullpen.

"She told me to take a number" she said, obviously bristling.

McGee and Tony looked up from their desks.

"Are you speaking metaphorically, Zee-vah?" Tony asked.

The Israeli sat down heavily on her chair.

"I am not" she said. "I went to Abby's lab to see if she had made any progress on matching the semen samples found in the Warner case. She told me to get a number."

"Maybe she's feeling tired, overworked, and taken for granted again" Tim said.

And immediately wished he hadn't.

"That, McGee, was low – even for you" Abby said as she stormed past his desk.

She tossed a piece of paper onto Ziva's desk.

"I combined two different types of DNA tests" she started. "Short tandem repeats test with polymerase chain reaction. To amplify the samples. Then I compared them with Petty Officer Warner's DNA. I got a match. Go pick him up before he deploys – because he's _definitely_ your guy."

She turned on her heel and stood there glaring at McGee for a long moment.

"What!?" she yelled in Tony's direction when she felt his eyes bore into her.

"Nothing .." he replied, as he lowered his eyes back to his monitor.

"Well then get moving" she snapped.

"Just waiting for Gibbs to come back from his meeting with the Director" Tony placated.

Or tried to.

"And don't think you're getting off that easy, Timmy" she said, crossing her arms across her chest. "That was uncool. Really _really_ uncalled for. And I'm not going to forgive you anytime soon."

She was still standing there like a pillar of salt making McGee squirm when Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

Tony jumped from his seat.

"Abby nailed Warner, Boss."

"Then why are you still here?" Gibbs asked, his eye still on the figure standing menacingly in front of his desk.

"_Trying to avoid bloodshed_" Tony hissed as he pulled his weapon and badge out of his desk and headed for the elevator with Ziva on his heels.

McGee rose and made to follow.

Abby blocked his path, and Gibbs was quick to intercept.

"Whoa .. easy Abs."

He nodded at McGee to slip by, and the younger agent was gone in the blink of an eye.

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked. "You seem kinda wired."

She deflated instantly.

"Lots going on" she said, looking anywhere but at him.

"Maybe it's time to call it a day then" Gibbs said.

"I still have work to do" she replied.

"That wasn't a suggestion, Abby" he replied. "Lay off the caf-pow. Go home. Get some sleep."

"I don't believe this. Are you angry with _me_, Gibbs?" she asked incredulously as he started to walk away.

He could hear the anger in her threatening to spill over, and turned and gave her one of his patented looks.

"I didn't start it" she argued.

"I don't care who started it. I'm ending it. I don't want to see you before Monday."

___________________________________________________________________

McGee tapped away on his typewriter – torn between wanting to write the next chapter of his novel and calling Abby and apologising.

The gentleman in him won out.

She didn't answer her landline and she didn't answer her cell phone. He wasn't really surprised that she didn't want to talk to him – he really had been out of line. But that didn't stop him from wanting to apologise. In fact it only made him want to apologise more. He tried calling a few more times before giving up. By then he didn't feel like working on his new novel anymore. He fixed himself a warm drink and settled in front of the television – hoping to catch the tail end of the news before a late night viewing of something mindless.

He caught the tail end of the news – and it had him up and out of the house in moments.

_______________________________________________________________________

Gibbs was almost asleep when his cell phone went off.

He peered at the caller id.

"McGee?" he asked as he answered.

"Boss .."

There was enough in the younger agent's tone to make Gibbs sit bolt upright. He could hear traffic in the background

"Where are you?" he asked.

"On my way to Abby's house" McGee replied. "Three people were hospitalised this evening" McGee continued. "It was on the eleven o'clock news. They were taken to the ER at Washington Hospital Center suffering from various degrees of acute paranoia and aggression. I just left there."

"What's the connection?"

"Boss .. the only thing these people had in common is that they they all work at Yard, and they all drink Caf-Pow. Whatever it was ... I think it was in the machine."

"How far away are you?" Gibbs asked, heading for his front door.

"Pulling up to her apartment now."

Gibbs heard the car door slam and the sound of Tim's footsteps hurrying up the gravel path.

"She isn't answering any of her phones" McGee said as he knocked on the door. "Abby? Abby!" he said – more forcefully the second time round.

"Kick it in" Gibbs snapped.

"No need – I have a key" Tim replied, fumbling with his keyring.

"Talk to me, McGee" Gibbs said, as he slipped into his own car.

"The door isn't locked" McGee said – his anxiety rising a notch.

He slipped inside the apartment.

"Abby ..." he called gently, his weapon at the ready. "Lights are on in the bedroom" he whispered to Gibbs.

There was silence for a few moments as he cleared the rooms. When he reached the bedroom he inserted his hands under her comforter.

"Coffin's still warm. Wherever she went she didn't leave long ago."

"There any signs of a struggle?" asked Gibbs.

McGee's eyes travelled round the room, and his blood ran cold.

"She didn't go willingly" was all he said.

"Call Tony and Ziva" was all Gibbs said. "I'm on my way."


	2. Two

The sound of latex gloves snapping off Tony's hands echoed round the tiny room.

"Forced entry Boss" he said, indicating the front door.

Gibbs ran a hand across his face.

"_Anything_ McGee?" he asked.

Tim looked up from Abby's computer.

"She got home in the early afternoon."

"And you can tell this _how_?"

"She was logged into four chatrooms from one forty-five till around eight. They're all still open" he said, skimming the content of her chats.

"This that _IM_ thing she's always talking about?"

McGee felt Tony leaning over his shoulder.

"Yes."

"Anything we can use?" asked Gibbs.

"Interesting choice of chatrooms" said Tony with a low whistle.

McGee closed all the windows hastily as Gibbs approached.

"Nothing we can use. Just friends."

Gibbs looked him up and down and then looked at the empty screen.

"Trust me, Boss .. you don't wanna know" McGee said, gesturing with his hands.

Gibbs observed him for a long moment and then nodded; certain that if there had been anything there McGee would have found it and alerted him.

"You said she went against her will" he said instead.

McGee nodded as he tapped a few commands into the computer. He stood and led the way into the bedroom.

"After the Mikel Mawher stalking" he began "Abby became very ... _unsettled_."

"What _McKodiak_ here means to say, Boss, is that _he_ became paranoid and started to make it his personal business to be sure that she kept decent company."

McGee rolled his eyes before continuing.

"Abby was unsettled, and the company she keeps isn't always the most .. predictable."

"Replace _predictable_ with _savoury_" Tony interjected. "And although I don't mean savoury in the _literal_ sense, we all know that our mistress of the dark does occasionally like to .."

Gibbs headslapped him and turned back to McGee.

"After the Mikhel Mawher case Abby became unsettled" Tim started again. "So we came up with a plan.

Gibbs motioned impatiently for him to continue.

"What kind of plan?"

"Abby has an ex-boyfriend who works for NASA."

"Toyboy" corrected Tony – falling silent quickly when Gibbs raised his hand threateningly.

"Worked with us on the Little Creek murder."

"Ashton Kuger. I remember" Gibbs said.

"Now if you remember _Chip_" McGee said – looking pointedly at Tony "then you also remember that Abby would never take anything sitting down."

"This going anywhere?" Gibbs cut in impatiently.

"We devised a way to make sure that if anything ever happened to Abby we'd be able to track her."

"You put a GPS locator on her?"

McGee nodded proudly.

"In all her shoes and all her neckwear."

"_All of them_?" Tony asked incredulously, taking a peek into Abby's closet. "Cos that's a lot of shoes and a lot of neckwear."

"And now you know why I was spending so much time around Abby" McGee replied sardonically. "It took forever to take those things apart and put them back together."

He turned back to Gibbs.

"There are number of items that will trigger the GPS into action" he said as he walked over to the bedroom entryway. "Abby doesn't believe in doors. Instead she uses these."

He indicated a hanging piece of purple and black tiedye cloth that lay to one side.

"They're all over the house. If someone tried to forcibly remove her she'd have fought them tooth and nail. Pulling these from their place activates the GPS."

"So we know where she is?"

"We will as soon as Ashton comes online."

"If the system was set up why didn't _he_ call _you_ when it activated?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know" McGee said, worry spreading over his face. "The system was set up to send an alert to both our phones. I received nothing."

"Glitch in your precious system?" Tony asked sarcastically.

McGee was spared having to answer by the beep from Abby's computer.

"Ashton ..." he said as the other man's face appeared on the webcam.

"Tim?" he asked, wiping sleep from his eyes. "You at Abby's?"

"Abby's missing."

Ashton was suddenly wide awake.

"Goddammit" he said as he started typing frantically into his keyboard. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted her."

"Trusted her with what?" McGee asked, conscious of Gibbs pacing behind him.

"She asked me to take the system apart and make some modifications a few weeks ago."

"Why?" McGee snapped – irked that she hadn't told him.

Ashton looked a bit sheepish.

"She .. uh ... she needed the hangings for a role play she wanted to do at home with ... uh ... someone. Asked me to remove the alert system for the night. Said she'd put it back in herself when the game was over. She obviously didn't reprogram the alarm system. She put the covers back up though - because the GPS activated eighty-five minutes ago."

"Where is she?" Gibbs interjected.

They could hear the man's fingers scrabbling over his keyboard.

"That's odd" he said.

"What?" Gibbs snapped.

"The last data was relayed forty minutes ago."

"_Where is she_?" Gibbs thundered.

"That's just it – I don't know. The GPS locator just ... went off the radar."

"Last point of reference?" McGee asked.

"Immediate vicinity of 9th and P Streets NW."

They heard more tapping.

"Lots of properties around there belong to the _Shiloh Baptist Church_" Ashton continued after a moment. "Most of them have been standing empty for a decade. Condemned. Many are boarded up. Some serve as temporary shelters for the homeless ..."

"Why can't you pinpoint an exact location?" Gibbs asked, looking first at the screen and then at McGee.

McGee drew a deep breath.

"She's probably in a screened room that's jamming the signal."

"So that means ..."

"She could be anywhere" McGee replied, indicating the satellite image of rows of identical-looking houses.

______________________________________________

Abby groaned as she tried to raise her head.

A firm hand to her shoulder kept her in place.

"Relax. Relax. You're alright" a man's voice said. "Can you blink?"

Abby blinked.

"All right. Raise your thumb. Good, Good. Touch your finger to your nose."

Abby did as she was told, but agitation radiated off her.

"Okay, calm down. You're fine. You can try sitting up now."

She looked into a pair of very warm eyes.

"Urgh" she said grabbing her head.

"They had to sedate you" the man replied.

"I think I'm going to be sick" she said.

The man looked round quickly and gestured to someone behind him.

"Is she okay?" a woman asked – and Abby opened her eyes to a sea of intense green.

"I think she may ..." the man gesticulated as he stood up and hurried off.

He was back in seconds, holding out a bucket. The woman sat next to her - holding the braids out of the way as Abby emptied the contents of her stomach.

"Stay with her" she said when Abby had settled back onto the makeshift bed. "Make sure she's okay."

The man nodded and smiled gently at Abby again.

"You're going to be fine" he assured her.

"I feel like crap" she murmured, turning gingerly onto her side.

And then realisation dawned and she struggled to get up.

"Where am I?" she asked, taking in her austere surroundings.

The man looked round before leaning over to her and whispering.

"Not sure where we are. Somewhere in DC I think."

"Why are we here?"

There was slight hestitation before he answered.

"I know why I'm here" he said looking over his shoulder to where the woman with red hair sat engaged in conversation with two dark-skinned men to make sure he couldn't be overheard. "But I don't know about everyone else. Although I do have a theory or two .."

"_Everyone else_?"

The man nodded. He was about to continue when the woman materialised at his shoulders again.

"A word .." she said to him. "Try and get some rest" she said to Abby.

There was something about her tone that Abby couldn't quite figure out.

"Can someone tell me what's going on here?" she said.

The woman looked at her.

"My name is Jenny. At the moment it's all you need to know. Now get some rest. You're going to need it. The others will be here in a few hours. It's going to be a long night."

Abby grabbed the man's hand as he was about to follow Jenny. She pulled him down to face level.

"Have we met before?" she asked. "You look really familiar."

The man smiled.

"Two years ago" he said. "Portsmouth Naval Trauma Center."

Abby's eyes widened.

"You were Gibbs' doctor" she breathed.

She clutched frantically at the sense of security that somehow seeped into her despite everything.

The man nodded and smiled paternally at her.

"I'm Todd" he said. "Todd Gelfand."

Abby squeezed his hand.

"Then I feel better" she said, curling into fetal position. "Sort of."

"She's right" Todd said. "You need to get some rest. We'll talk later."


	3. Three

"Do not ask me to do this again, Tony" Ziva said as she stepped into the apartment and small brown paper bag on the table in front of him. "_This_ is not kosher."

Tony opened the bag eagerly. He looked hungrily at the bacon, and then his face fell.

"Oh come on .. I said _scrambled_."

"They are eggs, Tony. Eat them" Ziva said as she walked over to the window and picked up the binoculars.

"I _don't like_ sunny side up. Sunny side up _oozes_. They look like _eyes_. They're lookin' atcha."

Ziva rolled her eyes and continued to assess the situation outside.

But Tony was far from done.

"It feels like we've been stuck here for months doing nothing."

"We've been here for six hours' "It is _you_ who make it seem like months with your neverending whining and complaining. It is like having children."

"I do not _whine_" Tony responded.

Ziva cast him a look over her shoulder.

"That, Tony, is a matter of opinion."

She went back to looking through the binoculars.

"I think it is time you went out there" she said. "They are waking up."

Tony looked over her shoulder as he picked at his food. He gave ths box one last longing look and set it down.

"Right" he said. He pulled a pile of clothes from a large bag and started to undress.

Ziva looked on in amusement as he stripped down to his boxers.

"You don't mind if I change in here do you?" Tony asked suggestively. "Bathroom's kinda cold."

The Israeli smirked.

"It would take a lot more than the sight of you in your underwear to impress me, Tony" she said, tossing him cargo pants from the pile.

"Neh neh neh" Tony imitated, his head bobbing from side to side.

He pulled on a jacket and then picked up a dirty-looking hudson hat. He brought it to his nose.

"Peewww .. where'd this come from?"

"McGee's personal collection" she replied, taking it from him and pulling down over his ears.

"Figures" he said, trying to hold his breath.

"Abby sprayed it with something foul. He was not pleased."

Tony grinned.

"In that case .."

He placed a finger over the earwig.

"Soundcheck" he said. "And lets connect to MTAC."

"Already done" she announced.

Tony whirled round.

"They've been watching all this time?"

"We have, Di Nozzo. Now get out on the street" Gibbs' voice boomed.

Tony peered at the grainy screen.

"Hey Boss. Didn't see you there."

"That's because we're sitting in the dark" the other man replied.

"Now get out there."

"On it .." Tony said. He made to grab the box but Ziva snapped it from him.

"Most homeless do not have the luxury of breakfast in a fancy box" she said. She took one last look at the contents and tossed it into the trash with a shudder.

Tony stuck out his tongue at her.

"Witch" was the last thing he said before he left the apartment.

____________________________________________________

McGee put down the phone n MTAC.

"Agent Fornell is here, Boss" he said to Gibbs.

"Let him in."

A few seconds later Fornell was standing in his presence.

"Hell of a way to start the morning, Jethro" he said.

"Ya think, Tobias?"

"How'd this happen?" the FBI agent asked.

Gibbs ran a hand across his face.

"Not got the whole picture yet" he replied, the tension in his voice evident.

"Well this might help" Fornell said – handing over a piece of paper.

"What is it?"

"List of people that have gone missing from the DC, Maryland, and Delaware area over the past six weeks."

"Any connections?"

"Other than that they've all turned up dead?"

Gibbs took a long sip of his coffee as he perused the list.

"They're all scientists" Fornell continued. "One worked for _DuPont Qualicon_, another was a consultant for _Syngenta_, another one was a tenured professor at the _University of the District of Columbia_. The Bureau's trying to connect a body found yesterday morning with one Stan Daniels. He's been missing for six days. Works for the _State Chemist Program_ in Maryland."

"How's Abby fit into all this?" Gibbs asked.

"She got any particular expertise – apart from the obvious?"

"Mould" Gibbs said with a wry laugh. "What are we looking at here? Why is the Bureau following these cases?"

Fornell shrugged.

"Out of my depth on this one, Jethro. It was a stretch even to get this" he said as he tapped the piece of paper in Gibbs' hands. "But I'll keep pushing. Got a couple of favours I can call in. What's going on here?" he asked, indicating the screen.

"Got anything, Di Nozzo?" Gibbs asked as the camera panned littered streets.

"Nothing yet. Gonna try talking to a couple of people" he said.

"You do that" said Gibbs, turning his attention back to Fornell. "Appreciate your help on this one, Tobias."

"Anytime."

___________________________________________

Abby felt hot breath tickling her neck.

"How much longer?" a heavily-accented voice asked.

"I'm flying solo – so at least a day" she replied.

She'd decided that keeping a low profile was her best bet. By now the others would have figured out that she was missing. She'd activated the GPS, so it was just a matter of time before Gibbs got her the hell out of here.

"Would it go faster if you had an assistant?"

Abby risked a look at the man – taking in everything about him.

"I work best alone" she said.

"We suspect that our last guest made some modifications that will prevent us from achieving our goals, Abby. It is my hope that you will be able to -"

"Only my friends get to call me Abby" she said as she worked.

"Well then, _Miss Sciuto_, it is my hope that you will be successful in identifying the modifications and redressing them."

He made her braids swing with a slight tap of his fingers.

"I would hate to see you end up in a dumpster like him."

Abby shivered. She didn't bother to tell him that she'd already identified the strain and that absolutely no modifications had been made. For a moment her thoughts ran to this Dr. Daniels, whoever he was – and then she focused on sending telepathic messages to Gibbs. Hoping he would understood that he had to hurry. At most she'd only bought herself a few hours.

Her eyes were drawn to the other side of the room a few moments later by slightly raised voices.

Todd and Jenny were at it again. It was the third time in as many hours.

She couldn't hear what they were saying but the body language was enough to tell her that they were discussing something very serious. Todd was pushing for something – but for the life of her Abby couldn't make out what it was. She wished they would turn round so that she could read their lips – but they never did. They just huddled in the corner and argued.

Jenny seemed upset though. That much she could tell.

No matter how many scenarios she ran through, Abby couldn't work out what the connection was. She was sure the doctor was being held here against his will, and she had deduced that Jenny was not. And this unsettled her - because there she felt drawn to the redhead. For reasons she couldn't quite explain. For a moment she wondered whether it was in fact the red hair. Gibbs loved redheads - and she wondered what he would make of her. She dismissed that thought fast. His three ex-wives had been redheads too - and he hadn't displayed great judgement of character in marrying any of them. But still ... there was something about her.

She was drawn out of the thoughts by slight movement. Todd reached out and took Jenny's hand in his. She extracted it immediately - but something resonated with Abby.

There were feelings here.

She lowered her head quickly and pretended to work as she saw Jen push herself away from the wall and move towards her.

"You've been working a long time" Jen said to her gently. "It's time to stop and get something to eat."

"Jenny, I'm serious ..."

Todd obviously wasn't done with the argument and he stepped up next to Abby.

Jenny ignored him.

"You haven't eaten anything since you got here. Is there anything in particular you'd like – I'll have it brought in for you."

Abby looked into her eyes and felt it again – this unexplained connection. She was just about to reply when she got the distinct feeling that something was wrong. Something about the way her eyelids fluttered. Abby put a hand out but Todd clamped down on it.

"She's zoning out" he said, his voice low.

Abby felt the tension in him and stared in horror as the slight twitching in the woman in front of her escalated.

"She's progressing into a grand mal" Todd said, displacing the goth in one deft move and making sure Jen hit nothing on the way down.

Abby felt as though her heart might explode after her chest. She covered her mouth with both her hands and suppressed the sob that threatened to escape as she watched Jen fall to the ground. She shut her eyes tight, knowing that there was nothing she could do for her except wait.

"It's over" Todd said after what seemed like an eternity. "Help me turn her over on her side gently."

As she helped Abby couldn't help but watch the doctor in front of her. Every movement indicated that he cared about this woman – from the way he turned her head to the side to the way he cleaned up around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he worked.

Abby nodded haltingly.

Todd patted her hand and then squeezed it.

"She'll sleep for a while now" he said, turning his attention back to Jen.

He ran his hand over her hair, and Abby felt her heart constrict a little bit at what she saw in his eyes.

Things fell into her place in her head.

"You're here because of her, aren't you? It has nothing to do with what else is going on."

Todd dropped his eyes to Jen's listless form. Then he started to talk.

"I was on vacation a week and a half ago. Until I found myself at gunpoint. They brought me in here to monitor her."

"So nobody even knows you're missing yet" Abby said – wondering how the chief neurosurgeon of a naval trauma center could just go missing.

Todd exhaled.

"I'm not due back at work for another four days. I was overdue for a long vacation."

"Do you think that's why they chose _you_?"

Todd shrugged.

"I guess .." he said.

Abby's eyes fell on Jen too.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Not sure. I don't have enough information to go on" he said. "They gave me one set of MRIs and that's it. But the seizures are increasing in number. We're up to at least one a day. Sometimes two."

"What's going on here?" she asked, lowering her voice.

"Not really sure about that either" he replied, his hand still caressing Jen's head. "Various people have come and gone. Some have stayed longer than others. Something is in the works but I haven't been able to work out what it is. Apart from the fact that there are pathogens involved."

"Are they planning an attack? What's the target?"

Todd shrugged.

"My focus is Jenny" he said.

He looked at Abby and gave her a small sad smile.

"I know what you're thinking .." he said with a small smile.

"You do?"

She couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"You're thinking I have Stockholm Syndrome" he said.

Abby looked at him - totally stunned into silence because it was exactly what she had been thinking

"Do you?"

Todd let out a small laugh, and he looked back at Jen again. He lowered his voice to something akin to a whisper.

"If I thought she was on their side then maybe you'd be right. But I don't think she is."

Abby's eyes lit up.

"You think she's working undercover?"

"Call it my gut" Todd said.

"You sound exactly like Gibbs" Abby said happily. "I knew there was a reason I liked you. Well ... apart form the fact that you brought him out of his coma and -"

Todd raised his eyes suddenly as two men entered the room.

"Right" he said with grim determination. "Enough's enough. She needs to be checked out properly or I can't be responsible for her anymore."

"Be careful" Abby hissed as he stalked over to the two men with purpose in his stride.

Then she looked down at Jen and took her hand in hers. She took over Todd's role of touching her reassuringly; stroking her hand and even her hair.

"It's going to be fine" she whispered tenderly to her. "I knew I had a good feeling about you. You know, el jefe loves redheads. That's my boss. His name is Leroy Jethro, but I just call him Gibbs. He's a silver-haired fox, and I bet he'd think you're really pretty."

She looked around her and shivered - hoping with every particle in her body that Gibbs would find her soon.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

**Author's Note:**

I tried really hard to keep the part about the seizure clinical and not go into too much detail. I did tell you that it would be angsty – but I do hope you won't abandon the story now.

Gibbs and Jen will meet in the next chapter.

_Stockholm Syndrome_ is used to describe a psychological response sometimes observed in someone held against his or her will who develops an attachment (or great loyalty) to the hostage-taker.


	4. Four

Abby watched as one of the men gave Todd a cell phone. He punched in a few numbers and ran a hand across his face as he spoke to the person at the other end of the line.

After a few moments he handed the phone back and nodded.

"I hope you have good news for me" the head honcho said as he sauntered over to Abby.

"I have good news" she replied, knowing instinctively that she needed to tell the truth. "No modifications were made. To any of the pathogens."

The man's eyes cut to the table and a smile spread out over his face.

"Then we can proceed" he said. He sought Todd out with his eyes. "Tell her" he said as he walked away, already in the process of placing a call on his cell phone.

"Abby" Todd said, crouching next to her. "They've agreed to let Jenny go to a hospital and get another set of MRIs. I've called in a favour from a colleague. I need you to go with her as soon as she comes round."

"But ... what about you?" she asked. "Aren't you coming with us?"

Todd looked round.

"I can't go with you" he said. "They're thinking of it as ... insurance. And I'm on leave. I can't show up without running the risk of drawing attention to us."

Abby felt fear rise in her throat. She didn't know how to tell him that she knew Gibbs was out there waiting to pounce. That one way or the other she probably wouldn't be coming back.

Todd squeezed her hand – almost as though he could tell what was on her mind.

"Don't worry about me" he said. "You need to look out for Jenny. Stay with her. Do what they tell you. Keep her warm. And above all - don't antagonise them. Please."

He pressed a packet into her hand when she nodded.

"The first set of MRIs, and her medication. You'll be meeting a Doctor Walcomb. You may have to wait once you get there. Until they run the tests, and until he looks at the results and decides whether her medication needs to be upped. Or changed. You should be back in a few hours, but if it runs into something longer than expected you need to make sure she takes her meds. She's due for her next ones in ..." he checked his watch "seven hours."

"I wish you were coming with us" Abby said as she pulled him into a hug and held onto him tightly.

"I do too" he said, his free hand dropping to Jenny's head, "but we have to think of Jenny first."

A slight moan from the ground alerted them that she was coming round.

"Hey sleeping beauty" Todd said as he touched her face as discreetly as he could.

The pain in his voice made tears spring to Abby's eyes.

"You're going for a ride with Abby."

Abby huddled close to him and pulled the oversize envelope to her body as Todd tended to Jen. She was awake but very obviously groggy.

"She'll probably be in and out for a while" Todd explained. "Don't be alarmed if she goes back to sleep in the car. It's perfectly normal. She will probably sleep through most of the testing too."

A third man entered the room.

"Hassim. The driver" Todd explained. "They call him in whenever any one of them needs to go somewhere."

Abby nodded and watched him walk up to the other two and engage them in conversation. She wished she could speak Arabic.

"Yusīr 'ala ̕annahā tajib ̕an tu'khath ̕ila mustashfan" one of the men said to Hassim.

_(He is insisting that she needs to be taken to a hospital)_

"Hiya al-fursa al-kāmila. Khuthhā wal-fatā wa la ̕ubālī bikaifa taf'aluhā fa'uqtiluhumā" the other one added.

(_It is the perfect opportunity. Take both her and the girl. I don't care how you do it. Kill them both. And do not come back here till I send for you.)_

"Hal wa huwa?" Hassim asked.

(_And him?_)

"Utrukhu lī" the second man answered.

(_Leave him to me._)

She hovered as Hassim lifted Jenny into his arms, and felt tears threatening again as Todd propelled her gently after him.

"Go" he said.

_______________________________________________

"What've you got?" Gibbs asked as Tony walked away from a group of people huddled round an oil drum.

"Not a lot" Tony replied. "One of them thinks he may have seen the same car drive by a few times. Dark skinned man, possibly middle eastern. Redhaired woman."

"Plate?"

"Partial. Not so sure it wasn't the money talking though. McGee .. you there?"

"Here Tony."

"Put out a BOLO on a dark green Mercury Sable. Last two -"

"Boss" McGee called out suddenly. "Abby's GPS just activated. She's on the move."

"Ziva!" Gibbs called.

"On my way" she called, grabbing a set of keys from the table and running for the door.

"Location McGee ..." Tony called as he broke into a run back towards the apartment.

"Corner of 8th and Q Street NW. Ziva ... you got that?"

His answer was Ziva revving the engine before she shot out of the parking place in a dark van. She paused only long enough so that Tony could throw himself into the front seat.

She tossed him headgear to match her own.

"Step on it" he said as he pulled the balaclava on. "McGee?"

"I see you" their colleague said, following the progress of both vehicles simultaneously. "You're driving parallel to them now. Keep driving on P, past 7th Street. The FBI's got them covered from the rear on Q. They're turning onto Marion Street NW. _Now _..."

Ziva swerved into the street, almost hitting a car parked at the end of it.

"It's a one way street Ziva" Tony said, shutting his his eyes tight for a brief second.

But there was no reply because the van, the car, and the car behind it screeched to a halt simultaneously. Agents swarmed the middle vehicle – weapons held high.

The driver made one move towards his weapon and Ziva dispatched him with a single shot.

Tony wrenched open the back door and grabbed Abby.

"Get your hands off me" she screamed, kicking him in the groin with her heavy shoes.

"Abby it's me!" he yelled, pulling off his hood.

"Tony!" she called - just before movement on the other side of Jen caught her eye.

She saw one of the FBI agents train his weapon on her companion through the window.

"Get that off her" she yelled, wrapping her arms around Jen. "Tony tell them to back off. Now!"

"Talk to me, Di Nozzo" Gibbs yelled in his ear.

"We got her boss."

"Good work" he said – and Tony could hear the relief in his voice.

Ziva pulled off her mask and opened the door on the other side.

"Abby we have to go" she said. "We have to go now."

"I'm not leaving her" the Goth replied. "They're waiting for us at the hospital. And get that gun out of her face" she snapped.

"Boss ... we have a problem" Tony said. "There's a third party in the car. She seems to be unconscious - and Abby's refusing to get out."

Gibbs paced in MTAC.

"It isn't a request" he bellowed.

"I"ll tell her" Tony said, swallowing hard.

Abby prodded Tony's shoulder as he reached for Jen a few moments later.

"Be gentle" she said, trying to look round him and see how he was picking her up off the seat. "I said _gentle_. That's not gentle. That's like ... like hauling a fishing net full of tunafish onto a trawler."

Tony exchanged a concerned look with Ziva.

"And watch her head!" Abby screeched as he just narrowly missed hitting Jen's temple against the door.

"I've got her" Tony said, trying to keep the irritation from his voice.

"You almost dropped her twice."

"I did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Gibbs wouldn't have almost dropped her."

"Get in the van" Tony all but yelled.

"And don't shout. You'll wake her up, and she needs to rest."

Ziva pulled her into the van before Tony could reply.

They had barely closed the doors when the car in the middle was blown to pieces.

"Where did you say you were going again?" she asked as Abby cradled Jen's listless form to her.

_________________________________________________________________________

Tony ignored the looks that people gave him as he entered the building with Jen's limp body in his arms, and followed Abby down to her lab.

"Put her here" Abby said as she swept everything off the table in the back room.

Tony laid his charge down.

"Think we should have Ducky take a look at her?" he asked – knowing that Gibbs was already on his way down.

"Yes. Now get outta here. Not you" she said, grabbing McGee by the arm as was about to tollow Tony out.

"Give me your jacket."

"What? Why?" he asked as she pulled it off him.

He stared in horror as she turned it inside out, scrunched it up, and put it under Jen's head.

"Well I would have asked Gibbs for his but it's your _Hugo Boss_. It's more comfy, it's fleece-backed, less scratchy. You know mo-"

"You're ... you're giving her a $500 pillow?" McGee sputtered.

"She deserves it" Abby snapped, looking tenderly at Jen as she stroked her hair.

"Abby!"

"Gibbs!"

She flew out of the back room and catapulted herself into his arms.

"Oh Gibbs ..."

She squeezed him tight, and then looked up and took him by the hand.

"Come meet Jenny" she said with an eager smile. "She's sleeping but you ca-"

She looked at him questioningly when she encountered resistance.

"Gibbs?"

"She's a terrorist Abs" he said slowly.

Abby drew herself up to her full height.

"She's on our side" she said, her eyes widening.

"And you know this _how_? Because she told you?"

"No ..." she said haltingly. "I just _know_."

"Abby .. these people pulled you from your bed in the dead of night! They held you against your will. They've killed four people."

"She's not a terrorist Gibbs" she said, her voice rising slightly in pitch.

She looked over his shoulder and pulled him into the lab so that they wouldn't wake Jenny. And then she looked back at him.

"I don't have anything for you yet ... but I will. And .."

"Abs ..." Gibbs said - his tone a clear warning.

"I understand you're here to tell me _Abby, don't get too attached to this woman because she could be a terrorist and we don't know where the evidence is going to lead us yet_."

"Okay then good ... I won't have to tell ya."

"No. You won't" she said defiantly.

"Abs ... she belongs in lock up till she's ready to be interrogated."

"No she doesn't Gibbs" she said, her voice cracking slightly.

When he didn't reply she locked eyes with him.

"I'm going to prove it to you" she said as she took off her necklace.

Gibbs looked on as she pulled a pair of pliers from her desk and took it apart. A few moments later she held up a small memory card to his nose before placing it in a card reader. Images flashed across the plasma.

"McGee and I put cameras as well as a GPS in every one of my babies" she explained over her shoulder. "I have photos of every single person I interacted with in the past few hours."

She pulled up a photo of Jenny and started to run photo identification matches.

"I'm running the image through the FBI terrorist database" she said.

Gibbs watched and waited, knowing that it would be better to let her come to her own conclusions.

"There's nothing here" she said.

"Doesn't mean a damn thing, Abs. She could be using a Bourne alias. If she's as good as I think she is you'll never find her."

"I ran her image through the bureau and I got nada" she insisted, desperately clutching at straws.

"You don't have access to the full database."

They both turned at the sound of the new voice.

"You're holding out on us" Abby said to Fornell. "That is _not_ nice."

"Tobias ..." Gibbs greeted him.

"Jethro ..." the other man said in return.

"I'm going to prove it to you" Abby said.

"We'll see" Gibbs said as indicated to Fornell that they should exit. "Send those images to MTAC now. We'll take it from here. McGee" he called as he left. "She doesn't leave that room. If she tries anything ... shoot her."

McGee's eyes cut to Abby's for a second, but then he nodded at Gibbs.

As soon as he was gone Abby made a move towards the back room.

"And keep Abby away from her!" Gibbs shouted from the corridor.

"I need to check that she's okay" she said as she stood toe to toe with the younger agent.

McGee shook his head.

"I can't let you do that, Abby. You heard Gibbs."

"Someone has to look after her, McGee" she said. Her voice cracked again slightly and McGee looked over his shoulder. "McGee please ..."

He peered through the glass into the back room, and then looked at the door to the lab.

"If Gibbs catches us ..."

"He won't" she said, giving him a quick hug. "Go send him the pictures to MTAC. That way he won't come back down here."

McGee shook his head and pulled out his weapon as he preceded her into the small room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, horrified. "Put that away."

"If she pulls something .."

"What .. out of her _underwear_?"

She stood by the older woman's side and took her hand in hers. Jenny's eyes fluttered open at the contact. They were unfocused for a long time, and Abby looked at McGee.

"Do those look like the eyes of a terrorist to you?" she asked.

"You're only making this harder on yourself" he said sympathetically as he reholstered his weapon.

"Hi ..." Abby said softly to Jen, still holding on to her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Where am I?"

"Welcome to NCIS" Abby said proudly.

Jenny struggled against the goth and pushed herself up into sitting position.

"I need to speak to to your boss."

"After Ducky takes a look at you" Abby insisted.

"Who's Ducky?"

"Our medical examiner" McGee supplied.

Jenny looked up at him in feigned shock.

"A medical examiner? I'm not dead yet. I hope."

McGee smiled in spite of himself, and Abby picked up on it immediately.

"You feel it too, don't you?" she threw at him.

"Abby .." he cautioned.

"Feel what?" Jen asked.

"Gibbs thinks you're a terrorist" Abby said before he could stop her.

"Abby, I need to talk to your Boss _now_" Jenny said.

Abby's face darkened.

"When you're feeling better" she said. "You're not ready to take him on right now."

"Be that as it may" Jen said, swinging her feet slowly over the edge of the table "I need to talk to him before he starts digging."

__________________________________________

**Author's Note:**

I know I said Gibbs would be meeting Jen in this one – but it was turning out to be too much for one chapter. So they will meet face to face in the next chapter.

Also, thanks to _Enthusiastic Fish_ for helping out with the Arabic.


	5. Five

Abby tapped away at her computer, with Fornell and Ziva looking over her shoulder.

"I've got positive IDs on two of them. Nothing on Hassim. Yet."

"What've you got?"

Abby pointed at the screen.

"_Ahmed Al-Thani_. The one asking doing most of the talking. At least with me. He's on your watchlist. He came to the US on a student visa from Iran sixteen years ago. Disappeared in '95. And .. _Marzuq Massoud_. Currently holds a green card. He's been here eight and a half years, unemployed for the past six. No criminal record. Last known employment ..." she paused briefly as her eyes sought the FBI agent's "the DOA in Maryland."

"Go back to Al-Thani" Fornell said after a moment's deliberation.

Abby did as she was told.

"Have you heard of him before?" Ziva asked, as she watched the older agent pace.

"I've met him" he replied, running a hand across his face before he started to explain. "On March 15th 1995 the US Marshal Service issued an alert to federal courthouses it protects. Including the one in Oklahoma City – across the street from where McVeigh's truck bomb killed a hundred and sixty-eight people."

"That's like ... a month before the bombing" Abby said.

"Thirty-five days, depending on when you start to count" Fornell continued. "According to the report a _fatwa_ had been issued to attack marshals or their buildings. The FBI got involved separately at the same time, advising the General Services Administration that security needed to be heightened for hundreds of federal buildings it operated – including the Murrah Building."

Ziva looked at him in confusion.

"But they did not find anything to link McVeigh to Middle Eastern terrorists or the Islamic extremists you mention."

"The spring of 1995 was a time of heightened _chatter_ among terrorists seeking to strike on US soil. I was part of the team that looked into it. I interviewed Ahmed Al-Thani. Two days later the man disappeared off our radar. He didn't resurface .. until now."

Abby's computer beeped again, and she stared at the screen.

"You were right" she said to Fornell. "I didn't have access to the whole database."

Her eyes skimmed over the surface, and then her eyes filled with tears.

"Do you see what I see?" she said as Fornell and Ziva looked up at the screen.

"Print it up" said Fornell.

"We should show this to Gibbs" Ziva said.

"Yeah. When he gets back" Abby said, worry in her tone. "The check up with Ducky is taking an awfully long time."

Ziva cast a wary look in her direction.

"There's something you're not telling me" Abby said, her voice taking on a panicky tone. And then her eyes narrowed and her voice dropped dangerously. "Where's Gibbs?"

Ziva paused for a moment.

"He is interrogating Je -" she said.

Abby was gone before Ziva had finished her sentence.

_______________________________________________________________________

So ... got any theories, McGee?" Tony asked as they watched from the observation room.

"Do you?" McGee shot back.

"Ack!" Tony said, raising a finger. "I asked first."

"Abby doesn't believe she's a terrorist" Tim said. "Keeps insisting there's something about her ..."

He stopped short as the door to observation was flung open wide and the subject of their conversation stalked in.

"He can't do that – she's not ready for this" she railed, practically plastering herself against the glass.

"Abs ... it's Gibbs. He _can_, and he _is_. And this ... this woman isn't making it ea-"

Abby turned on Tony and jabbed her finger into his chest.

"That _woman_ has a name. It's Jenny. Jenny Shepard."

She turned back to the glass and stared, stricken, as Gibbs did his best to intimidate Jen with his body language. She wasn't able to hold back pride when she realised that Jen was going to be able to hold her own.

"What are you looking for, Agent Gibbs?" she asked him calmly.

"Answers. I wanna know why you took Abby."

"Abby was out of my hands."

"Then why don't we start with Daniels and the other three. How they died. Hell, _why_ they died even."

"That's need to know."

"Trust me, I _need_ to know!"

"_We_ will handle this! I do not need NCIS to play _Internal Affairs_ for my agency!"

"And exactly _which_ agency would that be? The CIA?" Gibbs spat.

"You don't intimidate me, Agent Gibbs – so stop trying. And this stare that you have going? Lose it. I'm not one of your junior agents."

Gibbs folded his hands in front of him.

"And don't dismiss me either. I earned my jockstrap."

"Yeah? Does it ever give that empty feeling?"

"What?"

"Your jockstrap."

Jen smiled.

"No. Like some species of frogs, I _grow_ what I need."

There was silence for a moment as Gibbs thought about how best to come at her again.

But she didn't wait.

"You really think I'm a terrorist" she said, leaning back into her chair with what could have been a small laugh.

"These days, I look for terrorists behind most everything. Especially when they take my people from the sanctuary of their own home, force them to analyse toxins, and then try to blow them up."

Jen looked sharply at him.

"Blow them up?"

Gibbs pressed a button on the remote control and the plasma on the wall sprang to life. Photo after photo of the car bombing appeared on the screen. He watched as Jen took in the montage, gripping the edge of the table just slightly – although her voice was calm when she spoke again.

"I was in that car too."

"Which means they were trying to blow you up as well. You wanna tell me why? What'd you do? Get caught trying to sell them out?"

He could see her mind racing at a million miles a minute for a moment.

And then her eyes dilated.

"Hey!" Gibbs said, slamming his hand down on the table.

In the observation room Abby felt a surge of panic as she watched Jen turn immobile.

"Oh my God ..." she said as she pushed past McGee and ran out of the room.

"Abby you can't go in there" he called after her. "You know how Gibbs .."

Tony shook his head.

"It seem like fate to you?" he asked.

"What?" McGee asked in confusion.

"The last time Abby displayed this kind of an attachment it was to a dog."

He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" McGee asked indignantly, not particularly wanting to remember the incident.

"Shepherd and Shepard – it's one for the storybooks."

"Huh?" said McGee.

"The dog, McGee. It was a German Shepherd. And this woman's name is Jenny Shepard. Get it? Shepherd. Shepard."

McGee rolled his eyes, and then looked worriedly through the glass.

"This is going to be bad" he said.

________________________________________________

Gibbs' face darkened as Abby burst into interrogation.

"Abby!" he thundered.

"Look what you've done!" she shouted, dropping to her knees by Jen's side. "Can't you see she isn't well, Gibbs? Leave her alone. You have no right to do this. Jenny. Jenny ... "

Her voice was tinged with something that didn't fall into Gibbs' frame of reference, but he was prevented from responding by Fornell sticking his head round the door.

"Jethro .." he said, indicating that he should join him outside.

Gibbs took one last look at the two women and then stalked out of the room.

Abby glared after him and then placed her hand gently on Jenny's arm.

"Jenny?"

Jen blinked a few times and then she locked eyes with her.

"It's okay" she said gently, wiping a tear away away from the goth's cheek.

"A small one?" Abby asked, swiping the rest of her tears away.

"I'm fine."

Abby hugged her.

"I was so scared" she admitted. "I'm not going to let him do that again" she said with determination.

Jen unwound the goth's arms from around her neck and stroked her cheek.

"It wasn't his fault, Abby. He has job to do" she said. "And he's damn good at it too" she said, respect in her tone. "I can handle Agent Gibbs. Don't jeopardise your relationship with him over me."

"But Jenny ..."

Jen put her fingers to her lips and silenced her.

"No buts, Abby."

Abby sat on the floor next to her chair.

"Well I'm not leaving you alone with him again" she announced.

Jen pulled her head against her thigh and rested her hand on the black hair affectionately.

"I don't think you need worry about that" she said with a smile.

__________________________________________________________

In the corridor Gibbs looked at Fornell questioningly.

"Thought you might want to see this before proceeding" he said, thrusting a piece of paper into his hands.

"What's this?"

"_Get out of jail free _card" the other man answered.

"Great" Gibbs said as he perused its contents.

He turned to go back inside and Fornell placed a hand on his arm.

"She's got a hell of a backstory" he said, handing him an envelope. "You may want to read about it later."

They entered the room together and stopped short at the sight of Abby resting her head in Jenny's lap.

"Abby ..." Jen said softly when she saw them.

"I'm not leaving" Abby reiterated without looking up.

"Abs!" Gibbs bellowed.

Jen shot him a quizzical look and then lowered her eyes to Abby.

"Abby please .." she said, forcing the scientist to look at her.

Abby searched her face for a long moment. Then she got to her feet and came to stand on front of the two men.

"I'll be watching you" she said before she left.

Her last look before exiting was for Jen. Conscious of the fact that Gibbs' eyes were boring into her the redhead smiled reassuringly at her

"I'll be fine" she said.

As soon as she had gone the smile's lustre faded a little bit. She looked at the paper that Gibbs tossed towards her.

"Well this a royal screw up" she said in disgust as she looked at it. "Where did you get this?"

"The three letter boys" Gibbs said.

Jen stood from her seat and leaned her head against the wall.

"This is bad" she said.

"Care to tell us what Homeland Security is doing consorting with these people?" Fornell asked as he put a chip into the side of the plasma and brought up the photos of the men she'd been with a few hours before.

Jen looked at the screen and Gibbs was almost sure she suppressed a shudder.

"How long've you been undercover?" he asked, trying to prompt her to talk.

"Better part of four months" she said.

"Doing _what_, exactly?"

Jen took a deep breath.

"In 2002 I was in Afghanistan - heading up the team that located a number of documents and manuals describing ways to make animal and plant poisons in a number of terrorist hideouts."

When Gibbs and Fornell stared at her blankly she continued.

"Evidence that agriculture and food are potential Al Qaeda targets."

"So you're looking _into_ ..." Gibbs ventured when it became clear she was waiting for them to say something.

"_Agroterrorism_, Agent Gibbs" she said slowly. "Post-September eleventh the potential for terrorist attacks against agricultural targets is increasingly recognized as a national security threat. The response to the threat is now called_ food defense_."

"And I take it that's where you come in?"

Jen nodded.

"An agroterrorism event would usually involve bioterrorism, since likely vectors include pathogens such as a viruses, bacteria, or fungi."

"People generally associate bioterrorism with outbreaks of human illness like anthrax or smallpox" Fornell said "not with diseases affecting animals or plants."

"The goal of agroterrorism is not killing cows. Or plants" Jen said as she walked round the table to the screen. "Those are the means to the end of causing economic crises in the agricultural and food industries, social unrest, and loss of confidence in government. Although human health could be at risk through contaminated food or if an animal pathogen is transmissible to humans."

"A low-cost means toward the Al Qaeda goal of destroying the United States economy" Gibbs contributed.

"A low cost but _highly effective _means" Jenny agreed, her eyes meeting his head on.

She saw something different in them suddenly - and for a moment she almost wanted to drown in their blueness. But she shook that thought away as Fornell started to talk.

"Farms are geographically disbursed in unsecured environments. You have large expanses of land that are difficult to secure" he said. "Logistics must be a nightmare."

"Livestock are frequently concentrated in confined locations, allowing diseases to infect more animals quickly. Not to mention that concentration in slaughter also makes large scale contamination possible" Jen continued. "Live animals, grain, and processed food products are routinely transported and commingled in the production and processing system. These factors circumvent natural barriers that could slow pathogenic dissemination. And you're right – the logistics _are_ a nightmare."

"So what's the bottom line here?" Gibbs asked.

"Losses would accumulate as the supply chain is disrupted from farm to fork. Domestic markets for food could drop, and trade restrictions could be imposed on U.S. exports. The economic impact would range from farmers to input suppliers, food processors, transportation, retailers, and food service provi -

Gibbs' eyes started to glaze over, and Jen stopped in the middle of her sentence.

"Agent Gibbs?" she asked. "Is this boring you?"

"Not at all" he said, his eyes drawn more to the way her lips moved than to what was coming out of them for a moment.

"The number of lethal and contagious biological agents is greater for plants and animals than for humans. Most of these diseases are environmentally resilient, endemic in foreign countries, and not harmful to humans — making it easier for terrorists to acquire, handle, and deploy the pathogens."

"That what Abby was working on?" Gibbs asked, snapping out of his intimate moment with the contours of Jen's mouth.

"Not exactly. Egypt, North Korea, Rhodesia, and Syria are all believed to have agricultural bioweapons programs. This man ..." she said as she took the remote control from Fornell's hand and brought up the picture of Ahmed Al-Thani "is a an exiled relative of the royal family of Qatar. He turned up in the USA from Iran in ninety-two. Only to go off the radar in ninety-five. As I'm sure you know ... Agent Fornell. You were the last person who interviewed him a few weeks before the Oklahoma City Bombing."

Fornell looked at her in surprise and Jen shrugged.

"I know pretty much everything there is to know about all of you" she said.

"Everything?" asked Gibbs with a smile.

"Right down to the colour of your underwear" she said with a smile. "Although that is, perhaps, an exaggeration since you are a very private person. But certainly the colour of _Agent Di Nozzo's_ underwear" she said, looking beyond him at the observation window. "He gets around a lot more than you do. You really should get out of your basement more."

"Just being thorough?" Gibbs asked, his eyebrows rising.

"Abby was the last resort" she said. "I discouraged it as long as I could, considering what we found out about the way you do things and how thorough _you_ are" she said. "But .. back to Al-Thani. In 2005 a suicide-bombing killed a British teacher at the Doha Players Theatre. The man responsible was one Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali – an Egyptian residing in Qatar with alleged ties to Al Qaeda. His handler was Ahmed Al-Thani. An investigation into his background provided evidence that his cell had been involved in research about swine fever .."

"That the same as _Glanders_?" Gibbs interrupted.

Jen nodded.

"Soviet forces used that in Afghanistan in the eighties, didn't they?"

"Allegedly" she said. "On horses."

"So, if you don't mind my asking" Fornell said "Who are _you_ in all of this?"

"Rogue Homeland" she said with a wry smile.

"Figures" Gibbs said.

"With the ratification of the _Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention_ in 1972, many countries - including us - stopped military development of biological weapons and destroyed their stockpiles."

"_But_ ..." Gibbs said.

"There is evidence that we still have operations running, and that they're being run by the wrong people."

"Which is were _you_ come in ..."

Jen nodded her assent.

"_Burkholderia mallei_ is classed as a _zoonotic agent_" she continued. "Which means it is transmissible to humans. Transmission occurs by direct contact with infected animals and entry is through skin abrasions, nasal and oral mucosal surfaces. Or by inhalation."

"I thought it had been eradicated."

"_Had_ is the operative word, Agent Gibbs. Believe me when I tell you .. it _is_ here. Death can take months – but survivors can be carriers. We're looking at an outbreak of a very serious, life-threatening illness. Something I don't believe we're prepared for."

"Are you saying they're planning to release the bacteria into the air?" Fornell asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying" Jen said.

"Is there a vaccine?" Gibbs asked.

Jen looked him straight in the eye.

"No" she said.

She was about to move on to the next thing she wanted to say when she felt the tug that had become all too familiar to her in the past few weeks. When she refocused about thirty seconds later two sets of eyes were looking intently at her and Abby was hovering in the doorway.

Gibbs pulled out her chair and stood close as she got to her feet.

"Lets have Ducky take a look at you" he said, maintaining eye contact.

Jen found herself being drawn in by his blue eyes again.

"Okay" she said with a nod.

In the observation room Tony looked at Tim as Gibbs ushered her out of the room with a hand to the small of her back.

"Do you see what I see? Did he just ..."

McGee's eyes widened.

"Oh boy ..." he said.

__________________________________

**Author's Notes:**

_**DOA**_ – Department of Agriculture.

At bare bones level, a _**fatwa**_ is an Islamic ruling. Technically it can be any decision on how to act in a specific case.

This will be the last update till Monday, I suspect – because tomorrow I am going into NYC ... to meet _MissJayne_!!


	6. Six

"Ah .. Jethro."

"Had a chance to look it over?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the autopsy suite.

"I have" Ducky said as he picked the contents of Jen's dossier up and put them back into their folder.

"And?"

"Without a doubt the woman is driven. Sense of total commitment, of dedication to her objective at all costs, sacrificing what most of us would regard as the normal pleasantries of life to the achievement of that objective ... in a way that the rest of us have difficulty understanding. Or I should say _most_ of us have difficulty understanding."

Gibbs ignored the pointed look directed at him as Ducky carried on.

"Sometimes driven people are not pursuing a goal but escaping something in their past. A trauma. And reading her story ... well .. the trauma is most certainly there."

Gibbs picked up the folder and flicked through it until he came to the part Ducky was talking about, conscious of the fact that Ducky hadn't stopped talking.

"It's a wonder she managed to carry on at all" he was saying. "Husband leaves her for an _older_ woman when she's in her mid- twenties, she ... I can only assume ... throws herself into work. And judging from these assignments she seems to have advanced very quickly. There's obviously a fair amount of ambition here – but not necessarily ambition with a purpose or goal. The source of what drives a person may often be unconscious. Three years later she's working on something sensitive and her house is blown to bits. With her two sons inside. Her father who was supposed to watching them and who had stepped out to pick up some pizza kills himself three days later."

He looked at Gibbs and the look in his eyes told him exactly where his thoughts lay.

"Jethro ..." he said gently, "if you're asking my professional opinion ..."

"I am" Gibbs replied – and his voice was a little rougher than he expected. "Is she a loose canon?"

Ducky regarded him with a gentle smile.

"I would say ... that she sounds almost like a female version of you"

"That what attracts Abby to her?" Gibbs asked.

Ducky laughed as he walked round the metal tables.

"There is a lack of female presence around Abby" he said.

"She has Ziva" Gibbs said.

"Ziva is ... not particularly soft around the edges" the medical examiner said carefully. And then he smiled. "I think Abigail might have a girl crush."

"A ... _girl crush_?" Gibbs' eyes glazed over.

"There is evidence to show that one thing men and women have in common is that they both get crushes on women."

"That mean what I think it means?" asked Gibbs warily.

Ducky smiled.

""I'm not talking about what Anthony would refer to as_girl-on-girl action_, Jethro" he assured him. "A girl crush is where you meet a woman whose sense of style or brilliant achievements, or even just her personal charisma, makes you worship her."

"And you think that's what's happening to Abby?"

Ducky

"It's a little bit more complicated than that. Abby comes to you with everything. You're the strong paternal figure in her life. And yet ..."

"And yet?"

"There is no maternal figure. And I think Abby doesn't even realise that it's been missing. Now add to that the fact that i think you're seeing a part of Abby that you've only seen once, and I think we have a recipe for ..."

"Disaster?"

"Well ..." Ducky said slowly. "There are a lot of factors at work here."

"For example?"

"We're seeing the part of Abby that we saw when we had Jethro here" he said.

"Jethro was a dog."

"Yes, he was. She stuck to her guns till you were proven wrong in your original assumption. And she's done the same now. Only now it's a person, not a dog. And not only is it a person, it's a person who has been revealed to have a flaw. Abby's instinct is to protect."

"Jenny doesn't need protecting" Gibbs replied.

Ducky filed away the way he used her first name but didn't comment on it.

"When someone you admire is not in a position to defend themselves, the instinct is to protect, Jethro. You know that better than anybody else."

"She doesn't need protecting" Gibbs reiterated.

"Abby allows her emotions to cloud her judgement. She jumps to a conclusion" Ducky continued. "It's the way she's ... _wired_."

"Are you concerned?"

Ducky thought about it for a moment.

"Are you?" he asked instead of replying.

Gibbs didn't answer.

"You're out of your depth, Jethro."

"Not competing, Duck" Gibbs replied.

"Then why is this bothering you so much? It's been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she isn't a terrorist. What, _exactly_, is the problem here?"

He was almost sure he knew what the _problem_ was, but decided to keep it to himself.

Instead of answering Gibbs flipped the switch on the lightbox.

"How bad is it?" he asked, as the backlight illuminated Jen's MRIs.

Ducky's awkwardness was palpable.

"I really couldn't say" he said.

"I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other" Gibbs said, turning to face him.

"There isn't enough for me to go on here."

"But you have an idea."

"You're putting me in a very difficult position, Jethro."

"What is it about her?" Gibbs wanted to know. "First Abby, now you ..."

"Perhaps if you took the time to talk to her" Ducky called after him as Gibbs walked out of autopsy without a backward glance. "It wouldn't kill you to ... _apologise_."

But Gibbs was already out of earshot.

___________________________________________

Gibbs thought about Ducky's words as he travelled down to the lab; pondering as much what he'd said as what he hadn't said. It was hard not to recognise why the woman had struck a chord with him, and he wondered if he'd partly gone into interrogation all guns blazing because he hadn't wanted to run the risk of drowning in those green eyes. Or acknowledge the fact that the the red hair had impacted him. He took a long swallow of his coffee and looked at his watch. He'd given strict instructions to McGee to take Abby home, and finally found himself ready to spend some time alone with Jennifer Shepard.

Voices drifting out from the inner sanctum alerted him that his instructions had not been carried out.

"And when we finished bowling, he walked me to my car."

"And?"

"And he said _I hope to see you soon, babydoll,_ gave me a peck on the cheek and then he left."

"Short and sweet."

"Oh, he is."

Gibbs stopped in the doorway for a moment.

Abby and Jenny were sitting huddled together on the floor in the inner room, very obviously in the middle of girltalk.

"Hey" he said. "I thought I told you to go home with McGee."

Abby looked up at him a little sheepishly, and Jen chuckled.

"Do you want to tell him?" she asked.

"Not particularly" Abby said.

"The only thing that went home with Agent Mcgee .." Jen began.

"Even if he doesn't know it" Abby interjected with a happy grin.

"Is the key to these" Jen continued as she raised her right arm – handcuffed neatly to one of Abby's.

"I told you – I'm not leaving you alone. Not _alone_ alone, not alone with Gibbs, not alone with anyone" Abby said earnestly. "Not even Ducky."

"Abs ..." Gibbs started.

"No Gibbs. It's not gonna happen" she said petulantly.

Jen looked between the two of them, and then her eyes fell on Gibbs' coffee cup.

Her eyes widened in appreciation.

"Is that .. _Jamaica Blend_?"

Gibbs looked at her in surprise, but before he could answer Abby interrupted.

"Can we help you with anything Gibbs?"

"Just checking up on our guest."

"Well now you've checked and it's late and we need to sleep. And I'm fine too by the way. In case you ... you know ... were wondering."

"You're going to sleep like this?" Gibbs asked in amusement.

"There isn't enough place on the table for both of us" Abby said matter-of-factly.

"I've slept in more uncomfortable positions in the field" Jen said, her eyes locking with his as she spoke.

"So now you know she's fine" Abby said.

"Abby ..." Jen admonished gently.

Gibbs looked at the goth for a second and then turned his eyes back to the redheaded woman at his feet.

"We got off on the wrong foot" he said slowly.

Abby groaned, but Jen interrupted before she could say anything further.

"Why don't you get some sleep Abby" she said, pushing her head down onto her lap and toying with her braids "I'd like to talk to Agent Gibbs for a while. I'm sure he'll ... behave."

"Okay" Abby said, suitably chastised. "But if he upsets you .."

"He won't upset me" Jen assured her as she stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down.

Abby suddenly tried to pull herself up.

"Did you take your meds?" she asked.

"Go to sleep" Jen said firmly

Gibbs watched in silence, suppressing a smile, as Abby resisted for a while and then snuggled close.

"The sounds of our voices will lull her to sleep" Jen said. "Although it would be nice if you came down to my level. I don't particularly want to wake up with a crick in the neck in the morning."

Gibbs lowered himself to the ground next to her.

"She means well" Jenny said.

"I know."

"You're her idol. Don't ever forget that."

Gibbs just smiled and watched as Jen kept her hand on Abby's hair. Together they waited until her breath had evened out.

The silence became awkward after a while.

"I'm sorry about your family" he said suddenly.

Jen turned sad eyes to him, not surprised he knew about that.

"I'm sorry about yours" she returned - surprising _him_ just a little. "Did you ever found out who did it?"

Gibbs nodded.

"You?"

She nodded too.

"You get 'im?" she asked.

Gibbs considered for a while and then he nodded one more time.

"You?"

He saw the pain flash across her face before she hid it and shook her head.

"Turned material witness" she said with a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"Uh-huh" Gibbs said.

The silence stretched for a moment longer. Until Gibbs angled his body and stared blatantly at her.

"You're looking at me as if you wanna ask me something" she said after a while.

"Tell me about your health issues" he said, the gentleness in his voice tugging at her.

"I'm fine" she said.

"Are you sick?"

She looked at him.

"My health is fine."

Gibbs looked at her for a long moment, and then he raised his finger close to her face.

"Your right eye's twitching" he said. "That's usually a sign someone's lying."

Jen looked at him for a moment, finding the blue as mesmerising as she remembered it from earlier.

"I don't know how sick I am" she said simply. "Dr. Mallard is insisting that I get another set of MRIs" she said.

"What's stopping you?"

"Fear" she said simply.

Gibbs looked questioningly at her, and she smiled gently.

"Clock's ticking" she said. "That much I can feel."

Gibbs stared at her, unable to come up with anything even remotely suitable. He startled slightly when she tossed her head. It took him a moment to realise that she wasn't seizing, but that some of her hair had slipped out of the confines of her ponytail.

She raised her hand and tucked the strand behind her ear, but the movement only cause more hair to slip out.

"Hate it when that happens" she said, looking over at Gibbs and rolling her eyes.

He watched her raise her free hand to the back of her head and pull a piece of scrunched up material from her hair. It cascaded onto her shoulders in a wave of auburn and he had a hard time keeping his eyes off it.

"Want me to .." he offered before he was even aware that he had spoken.

She smiled and handed over the scrunchy – but her smile morphed into something else a few seconds later. The sensation of him gathering her hair sent a shiver through her, and she was almost sure she'd moaned. If he noticed he gave no indication, and remained focused on his task. He ran his strong hands through her locks - making sure there were no knots in it before he flicked it through the fabric once. And then twice. But if he'd missed the first moan he defnitely didn't miss the second when his fingers grazed her neck. She rolled her neck against them, and the next thing she knew he was kneading the tight muscles there. Instinctively knowing the places she stored tension. She was allowing herself to just enjoy the moment when it was shattered.

"You're lurking without a permit Gibbs" a sleepy voice said.

Gibbs stopped massaging and let his hands drop to her shoulders. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, his breath rippling over her skin.

"I think that's my cue to leave. Get some rest."

Jen smiled up at him as he got to his feet and turned to leave. She hesitated for a second.

"Could you ...." she began haltingly.

Gibbs looked at her from the doorway.

"I already did. Jen."

Jenny looked down to her side and a smile spread out over her face when she saw the coffee cup on the ground. It took her a moment longer to register that he'd called her by her name.

Her smile grew wider.


	7. Seven

"There are plenty of examples you know" Ducky said next morning as he stood in the company of Jen, Gibbs, and Ziva in autopsy. "In September and October of 1984, seven hundred and fifty-one people were intentionally infected with salmonella when followers of the _Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh_ contaminated restaurant salad bars in Oregon."

Jen nodded knowingly.  

"Plenty of examples outside of the US too" she said.

She leaned over one of the metal tables as she spoke – her shoulders practically brushing Gibbs'.

"In 1994, a Japanese sect of the _Aum Shinrikyo_ cult attempted an aerosolized release of anthrax from the tops of buildings in Tokyo."

"They found _ricin_ in the possession of a Minnesota militia group in ninety-eight, did they not?" asked Ziva.

"Ninety-five" Jen corrected. "But yes, they did."

"And in ninety-six a man from Ohio tried to obtain bubonic plague through the mail" contributed Ducky.

Jen turned to Gibbs and found him mirroring her stance on the metal table.

"You were in _Desert Storm_. So you know first hand that the coalition of allied forces faced the threat of chemical and biological warfare."

Gibbs nodded.

"Did they not also deliver anthrax by mail to US media and government offices in 2001?" asked Ziva.

"Funny you should mention that" Ducky said with a wry smile as he turned away. "Did Anthony ever tell you his SWAK story?"

"Swak?" asked Ziva.

Ducky smiled.

"It's easy to smile now of course" he began "but he gave us quite the scare."

As he launched into the story, Jen leaned forward.

"Thank you for the coffee last night" she said softly to Gibbs. "That was ver-"

Her fingers suddenly clasped his on the metal table. They were standing very close together, and for a second a surge of heat ran through him. But a quick look in her direction quickly dispelled any notion that there had been anything intimate in the action.

"Ducky" he called.

Alerted by the tone, the medical examiner raised his head.

"Your jacket, Jethro" Ducky said, his tone urgent, as he looked at his watch and kept time. "Under her head. Quickly."

Gibbs shucked it off and folded it before doing as he was told.

"Should I ..." he said, looking up from the ground.

"No. Just step away and don't touch her. Contrary to popular belief the tongue can't be swallowed. You only risk injury to the teeth or the jaw or even yourself if you try. There's nothing to do but wa-"

"Gibbs, I can't find Je-"

Gibbs closed his eyes as Abby swept into the suite, and then turned to stop her from getting too close. She took one look at the figure on the floor and buried her face in him.

"It's okay, Abs" he said, stroking her hair.

"No Gibbs, it's not."

"Duck ..." Gibbs said.

The medical examiner held up his hand, still keeping time.

"Forty-two seconds" he said when the seizure had run its course. "What was it last time, Abigail?"

Ziva nudged her gently when she didn't answer, and she looked at Ducky a bit vacantly.

"How long did the seizure last last time?" he asked a little more gently.

"Um ... I don't know" she said, struggling to remember. "I think it was about two minutes."

She extricated herself from Gibbs' grasp.

"We need to turn her on her side" she said as he knelt beside her. "You gave her your jacket" she observed, her voice teary. "That was sweet, Gibbs."

He looked at her once and then pulled her towards him.

She dissolved into tears.

"Duck ..." he said over her head, indicating the phone.

"Right" the older man said. He picked up the receiver and dialled a number. "Donna Durlap please" he said after a moment.

When he was done he put the phone back in its cradle.

"Abby" he said gently. "I need you to go and get Jenny's medication from your lab. The neurosurgeon will need to know what it is."

"You get an appointment?" Gibbs asked.

"There's a small opening in a few hours. I think she'll be awake by then. Abby ..."

"If she wakes up while I'm gone ..." she said – even though she knew it wouldn't happen.

"I'll be here" Gibbs said.

Abby looked from him to Jenny and then back again.

"You have to ask her a few questions, and be calm and friendly and reassuring ..."

"Ducky knows the drill" Gibbs said gently. "Go get the stuff."

"Okay" she said in a small voice.

____________________________________________

Jenny opened her eyes to an intense sea of blue.

"Hey" Gibbs said – and it took her a long moment to realise that he was on the floor cradling her in his arms. His eyes held the telltale signs of a person who'd never witnessed a seizure before, and her heart ached for him.

She tightened her grip on the hand in hers, sending him a message with her eyes that she was fine; that the worry in his eyes, however welcome, was uncalled for. The worry seeped out slightly, not completely, but his firm but gentle grip didn't lessen and for a moment she wished she had a reason to stay in his arms.

He stared, unable to tear his gaze away from her slightly questioning eyes. Because he didn't want to admit to what seeing her on the floor had made him feel, and he certainly didn't want to admit that her gentle squeeze of his hand had calmed him more than should be possible for a woman he had only just met.

"How long?" she asked weakly, moistening her lips.

"Not long."

"I meant how long have I been out."

"An hour and a half" Gibbs said as he held her securely in place.

Jen shut her eyes for a second and then they fluttered open. Abby's face hovered above Gibbs' head.

"I asked you about your meds last night" she said with a hint of reproach in her voice.

And then her eyes widened and her hand clapped over her mouth.

"Abby .." Gibbs said as he helped Jen to her feet. She was unsteady, and Ziva brought a chair forward immediately.

"You don't understand, Gibbs" Abby said, her eyes filling with tears. "It's my fault."

"It's nobody's fault Abby" Jen said as she reached for her.

Abby took a step backwards.

"It's my fault you didn't take your meds. Admit it. If I hadn't handcuffed you and if I hadn't fallen asleep on you then you would have been able to get your meds. They were on the desk and ..."

Gibbs looked at Jen. Something he couldn't understand flashed across her features for a moment. But it was gone before he could even attempt to analyse it, and she was speaking again.

"Don't do this Abby" Jen said, emotion lacing her voice as well. "I'm fine."

"No, you are not fine."

It was Ducky who spoke this time.

"And I'm afraid the matter is now out of your hands" he said seriously as he moved towards the hat stand. "The arrangements have been made. And there is a time crunch. We leave now."

Jen opened her mouth to protest but the look in Gibbs' eyes silenced her. He was about to say something when his cell phone went off. He listened intently and then his fingers lodged under her elbow.

"Take Ziva" he said as he moved her gently towards the back door.

"Jethro?" Ducky asked.

He was just about to slip on his jacket and hat and follow them when Jimmy walked in pushing a body bag on a stretcher.

"What have we here?" Ducky asked as unzipped the bag.

"Local leos found him" Tony said, entering behind Jimmy.

"One of ours?" Ducky asked.

"LA field office."

"What's he doing down here?" Ducky asked.

The door to autopsy swished again and Leon Vance materialised.

"That's what I need you to find out. This has to be your top priority. We need a quick resolution on this one. SecNav's breathing down my neck."

"Understood" Ducky said.

He waited till the Director and Gibbs had gone before turning to his assistant.

"You go with Jenny and Ziva to Bethesda" he said. "Someone needs to work the machine."

"But the autopsy .." Palmer began.

"Time is of the essence, Mr. Palmer" Ducky said as he slipped into his scrubs and pulled the faceguard off its hook. "Call me when you're done."

He started with the Y incision before Jimmy had even left the room.

_______________________________________________________

Donna Dunlap met them in the corridor of the Imaging Wing.

"You have twenty minutes. A minute longer, you'll get found out and I'll get fired. Clear?"

"How do we repay you?" Jimmy asked as he hurried after her with the stretcher, knowing that Ducky would have asked the same thing.

Dr. Dunlap looked at him over her shoulder.

"You can tell Dr. Mallard I've repaid him. We're even" she said with a smile as she swiped her card and pushed the door open.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jimmy asked as he settled Jen at the opening of the machine

She shook her head.

"Okay. We don't have much time. I'm going into the other room to run the test. Ziva, you can't stay in here."

Ziva nodded once and preceded him out of the room.

Palmer flipped the switch and watched the screen as the imaging started. His brow furrowed after a while.

"What?" Ziva demanded, as she peered closely.

"I'm not sure ... I ..." Jimmy said. "What time did Dr. Dunlap say the neurosurgeon was coming to look at the results?"

"In two hours" Ziva replied. "Is something the matter?"

Jimmy looked pale.

"Yes" he said.

"Are we done with the test?" the Israeli asked, her eye on the clock.

Palmer nodded dumbly, his eye still on the screen.

"Then we need to get out of here before we cost Dr Dunlap her job."

"Yes ... I ..."

Jimmy's eyes cut to the screen one last time before he saved the images to a cd and erased everything. He pressed the cd into the doctor's hand as they passed her in the corridor.

"I will have the results out to Dr. Mallard as soon as I can" she said reassuringly.

But Palmer felt anything but reassured.

"Hurry" was all he said.

Jimmy pulled out his cell phone and called autopsy. There was no response. He got into the back of the car and looked over at Jenny.

"Are you going to make me guess?" she said after a while.

"I ... um .. I .." he said.

Jen surprised him by reaching over and squeezing his hand.

"It's alright Jimmy" she said gently. "I didn't mean to put you in this position. Ignorance can be bliss for a few more hours."

Jimmy looked down at her hand on his.

"I ..." he began again.

"It's not your fault" she said softly – looking straight ahead so that he couldn't see the look in her eyes. "It's not anybody's fault."

Her eyes locked with Ziva's in the rearview mirror and she turned away from her as well.

The rest of the drive back to the navy yard was spent in silence.


	8. Eight

McGee watched as Gibbs rose from his desk. He didn't seem to be going anywhere and yet something was obviously claiming his attention. He had his answer a few seconds later when the elevator slid open and Jen come out of it. She paused for a heartbeat as she locked eyes with his boss, and then carried on walking towards him. Tim shared a look with Tony, smiled to himself, and was about to go back to his work when he saw Ziva behind Jenny. The look in her eyes was enough to wipe the smile from his face. And Tony had apparently seen it as well because he got out of his seat the moment Gibbs let Jen precede him up to the upper level.

"How'd it go?" he asked as they watched the pair walk up the stairs.

Nobody missed the fact that Gibbs' hand was on the small of her back again. Or that tension was radiating off both of them, even if neither one of them had actually spoken a word yet.

Ziva followed Jen and Gibbs with her eyes for a moment.

"I do not know. Jimmy did not tell us what he saw" she said.

As if she'd summoned him Palmer appeared, looking unsettled.

"Where's Dr. Mallard?"

"Doing a consult with a _Dr. Hampton_" McGee said.

"Who?" asked Ziva.

"Maryland M.E. Try his cell phone" said Tony as he stepped over to the filing cabinet, picked up the remote control, and activated the plasma.

Palmer walked off.

"What is that?" Ziva asked.

"We caught a case just before you left" offered Tim.

He had just started to explain when Gibbs appeared at the top of the walkway.

"McGee!" he called in a tone of voice that had the young agent taking the steps two at a time. "Need you to trace a call. From MTAC" he said, grabbing him by the sleeve as Tim was about to head back downstairs.

Tim entered the dark room, and as his eyes adjusted he saw Jenny on the phone. He sat at one of the terminals and typed in the number.

"Voice Over IP, Boss. It's being bounced all over the world."

"I want to talk to him" Jen said suddenly. "Put him on or the deal's off" she snapped.

Gibbs stepped to her side.

He shook his head at her.

Jen looked at him with questioning eyes for a moment, and then realised what he was trying to tell her.

"Ninety minutes" she said before she slammed the phone down.

She turned to Gibbs.

"I need to speak to your Director" she said. "And I need to contact my people."

"Boss ... Abby's here" McGee said.

Something flashed across Jen's face for a moment.

"I need to speak to her too" she said, running a hand through her hair and down the back of her neck. She rotated her shoulder blades briefly and then prepared herself for the impact that would be Abby.

Abby, however, approached timidly.

"Are the results out yet?" she asked in a small voice.

"Not yet" Jenny said as she reached for her hand. "Abby ... there's something I need to ask you. But I need to wait for your Director first."

"Call Director Vance" Gibbs said to McGee.

The young agent nodded and picked up the phone. Within moments Leon Vance was standing in their presence.

"What have we got?" Vance asked as he took a seat in the front row.

Jen paced in a circle before she started to talk.

"Abby ..." she began. "I need to know exactly what you did."

Abby stared at her for a moment.

"What do you ... ?"

"Abs?" Gibbs said as his eyes cut to Jen's and he saw the worry in them.

"You mean to the computer at the house .." she said warily.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jenny asked, her voice a lot sharper than any of them had heard it so far.

"Did you install a backdoor trojan?" Vance asked suddenly, earning himself a look from everyone.

"Yes, but how di-"

Her eyes widened.

"They found it? They can't have. I -"

Jenny rubbed a hand across her face.

"When it became clear that things were going to progress very fast I embedded a virus" she said, her eyes on Abby.

Abby sucked in a deep breath.

"Oh my God" she said.

Gibbs stared from one to the other as they communicated with their eyes, the technobabble lost on him.

"You planted something in their computers? Some kind of fail safe to stop them from replicating what they were engineering?" he asked, addressing Jenny.

Jenny nodded.

"But it was discovered."

"Discovered how?" he said, looking from one to the other. "Anyone? McGee?"

"Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, Boss."

"In English, McGee."

"That means the virus may _exist_ on the computer but it cannot _infect_ your computer unless you run or open the program."

"Yeah? So they opened the program?"

"No" Jenny said. "The firewall detected the Trojan that Abby put in. They have a highly sophisticated system. They started digging and found not only the trojan but also the virus."

"It also explains why they knew to call you here" said McGee with more than a little panic in his voice. "They traced the trojan back to us."

"Have they breached our network?" Vance said, coming to stand by his side.

"Yes" said McGee scrambling at the terminal.

Vance leaned over him and typed in a few commands.

"There" he said as a red alert started flashing across the screen. "Internal ops have them. They're purged."

He patted the young agent on the shoulder.

"We're fine."

Tim looked at him in awe but Vance had already turned away.

"So ... the virus would have rendered the toxin inactive" Gibbs tried again.

Jen nodded.

"But now they know it's there."

"And now they want you to disable it ..."

"Or they'll kill Todd" Jenny said slowly.

The arrival of Vance's PA intruded on the moment.

"SecNav on line one, Sir. He wants an update on the case."

"I'll take it in my office. You have the full support of this agency" he said to Jen. "It's your call. Gibbs, keep me updated."

"We have to fix this Gibbs" Abby said as soon as he was gone.

"Who's Todd?" he asked.

"My doctor" Jen said slowly.

"Your doctor too" Abby added.

Gibbs face darkened.

"Why are we only learning now that there's another hostage?" he demanded.

"I had a plan to get him out and it all went to hell in a handbasket when he bundled me off to the hospital" Jenny said slowly.

"He was dead the moment you left" he said, registering the pain that flashed across her face.

"He's still alive" Jenny said softly.

"It's a trap Jen" he said, already anticipating where this was going.

"We have to get him out of there Gibbs" said Abby, her agitation increasing exponentially. "What happened to not leaving anybody behind?"

"I will .." Jenny said.

And suddenly Abby understood what was going on in her head.

"No" she shouted.

"Get me Homeland Security" Jen said to McGee.

"I can backtrace ..." he began, looking at Gibbs.

"Get Homeland Security" Gibbs said, not taking his eyes off the woman in front of him – knowing better than to try and run someone else's op.

Jen turned towards the blue eyes which had become something of a comfort to her. She stared into them, knowing that no matter what he thought he would stand behind her. He seemed to comprehend, because he gave her an almost slight nod. But worry and something she couldn't put her finger on was once again seeping into his eyes. For an instant she silently cursed the cruel twist of fate that had placed this man in her path now. But she drew herself up and slipped what she hoped was an impassive mask back on her face.

"Your Director is online" McGee said, cutting into the silence that stretched between all of them.

Jen made short work of filling him in, and it was hard not to be struck by the way he listened to her opinions when all the while she was manipulating him and telling him just what he needed to hear to effect a raid in two hours. Gibbs' eyes cut to hers as it dawned on him that she was leaving out a few very important things. He understood that she had already made the transition in her head.

She'd made her decision and she wouldn't be turning back.

As the connection was terminated, Jen took a deep shuddering breath that made Gibbs automatically step towards her. She looked deep into his eyes and gave him a tight smile as his hand came to rest on her forearm.

And then she looked beyond him at Abby.

"Abby ..." she began.

"I don't wanna hear it" was all the scientist said as she fled from the room.

_____________________________________________________________

Gibbs stepped into the lab some twenty minutes later – not looking forward to what was coming next. Abby was sitting at her desk, tapping away at her computer furiously.

"Go away" she shouted when he knocked on the glass.

"Abby" he bellowed.

"Gibbs!" she said, jumping to her feet. She looked at him from behind the glass doors.

"Open it" he said.

Abby took a few steps backwards.

"It's time Abs" he said, his tone slightly more gentle.

He could see her eyes fill with tears.

"Open the door" he repeated.

Abby punched in a few numbers and the doors slid open.

"I suppose you're going to order me to come up there" she began.

"Is that what it's going to take?" he asked, taking a few steps towards her.

"She's not thinking clearly. It's the meds. That and ... she knows she's on death row. That would put a damper on anyone's spirits, and make them do ... foolish things."

Gibbs took hold of her shoulders.

"We have to let her go."

Abby's tears spilled over.

"Gibbs ... you know what that means."

"You can't keep here here .. Abs."

"But ...." She bit her lower lip before coneding defeat. "Okay."

"Okay" Gibbs said as he clapped her round the shoulders and started for the door.

"I'll let her go as soon as I've said goodbye" she called after him.

Gibbs whirled round and she was taken aback by the emotion in his eyes.

"How much more do you need to push, Abby? She has a job to do. You don't have to like it, I don't have to like it. But we have to let her do it."

"Have you looked into her eyes, Gibbs?" she asked.

And that was when she understood the emotion in his voice and in his eyes for what it was.

"Gibbs ..."

"Don't make this rougher on yourself, Abs. Or on her."

He turned to exit and stopped in his tracks

Jen stood in the doorway.

"Do we have a problem?" she asked.

"Nope" Abby said. "No problem."

"Good" Jen said slowly – eyeing first one and then the other. Aware that neither one of them knew how long she'd been standing there.

She sidestepped Gibbs and came to stand in front of Abby.

"I wanted to say goodbye" she said. "And when you didn't come back ..."

"Please take me with you" Abby said, her lower lip trembling.

"You know I can't do that" Jenny replied, grateful for the support that Gibbs leant her at that moment by coming to stand behind her.

"You can do whatever you want" Abby said.

"You seem to be the only one around here who thinks so" Jenny replied – but her voice had lost none of its gentleness.

Abby fisted her hands.

"So what!?" she shouted. "So what if I am."

"Abs ..." Gibbs started.

Abby gave him a defiant look and then carried on.

"Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe in. You have to stick to your guns till you can make a wrong right. I made this mess. I can fix it."

Gibbs opened him mouth to reply but Jen beat him to it.

"Sometimes things aren't so simple, Abby. Sometimes you can't control the outcome. Sometimes you have to look at the reality in front of you – and accept it."

And Abby knew she wasn't only talking about the mess she'd created.

"I can't. I won't."

Jenny looked at her, sensing the imminent meltdown, and reached for her.

"I can't go away with your guilt on my conscience" she said slowly as she enveloped her in a hug. "You did what you were trained to do. You saw an opening top neutralise a threat. You did what you needed to do. And now it's my turn."

She kissed her on the cheek and then swiped the tears from the goth's cheek before locking eyes with her.

"Promise me you'll be fine" she said.

"I can't" Abby said, removing herself from the hug and walking away.

Jen pinched the bridge of her nose and turned to Gibbs.

"We'll support you as much as we can fro-" he started to say; before the unshed tears in her eyes stopped him short.

Without thinking he reached out and caught the first drop just as it fell.

Jen pulled his palm against her cheek and pressed a kiss into it – and for a moment she was sure the air around them had rarefied.

"I have to do this" she said, willing him to understand.

Knowing that he already did.

He nodded, maintaining eye contact wth her because he knew that she needed the strength.

They looked at each other for a long drawn out moment and when the shift came it was almost imperceptible. Gibbs brushed his lips against hers, and for the briefest moment it felt like she was responding. But then she pulled away from him slightly.

Her hand rose to his face and she shook her head.

"You've had too much loss, Jethro" she said. "I don't want to add your list."

He looked at her for a moment and then drew her to him, placing a kiss to her forehead.

"Too late" was all he said as he held her.

Jen allowed his warmth to soak into her; allowed it to strengthen her resolve.

"I need to go out on my own terms" she murmured.

I know" he murmured against her hair, trying to block the deeper meaning behind her words.

Jen allowed herself the luxury of the comfort inherent in his embrace for a few more moments.

And then she pulled away. Heading for the door without looking back.

She paused next to Abby, but Abby didn't look at her. Gibbs saw her pause fractionally at the entrance to the lab, and look back to where the younger woman was pretending to work on something at the counter. Then she pulled herself up to her full height and disappeared.

He was still staring at the empty doorway when Abby threw herself into his arms.

"Oh Gibbs .." she said as he wrapped his arms around her, taking as much comfort as he was giving.

He didn't relinquish his hold on her as he took out his cell phone and dialled a number.

"Need a favour" he said when the person at the other end picked up. "No questions asked."


	9. Nine

**Author's Note:**

A lot of things are happening simultaneusly in this chapter. I've separated them with paragraph breaks – and I really hope they show up.

_____________________________

Palmer switched on the lightbox just as Ducky put down the phone on the Bethesda neurologist and hurried over. Together they looked at the results.

"Was I wrong Doctor?" Palmer asked.

Ducky clapped him on the shoulder.

"No" he said as he switched off the light and put the MRIs back in their envelopes. He pulled something off the desk and turned back to his assistant. "_This_, my dear Mr Palmer is what you call an unexpected turn of events. To Abby's lab. Quickly."

_______________________________

Ziva looked at her watch impatiently as she waited on the phone. She tapped her nails on the desk.

She looked up as a shadow fell across her desk.

"Gibbs?" Fornell asked.

"MTAC" she said, pointing to the upper level. "Yes. Yes I am here: she said suddenly in to the phone. "Don't ... Don't ... ach .. don't ... put me on hold" she said with a huff.

Fornell looked at her for a moment in what might have been amusement, and then made his way up the stairs.

"Found it?" Gibbs asked as soon as he saw him.

Fornell nodded.

"Don't wanna know" he said as he handed something over.

"Wasn't plannin' on sharing" Gibbs said as he took it and turned away.

"Had to call in quite a few markers. You owe me big Jethro."

"And I have no doubt you'll collect, Tobias" Gibbs said, his eyes doing all the thanking.

Fornell nodded.

"Ashton ..." McGee said. "I lost the signal."

"Yeah ... low gain antenna is intermittent. That's why _technically_ it's down for maintenance" the other man replied.

Fornell's eyes cut to the screen.

"What's going on?" he asked. And then his eyes widened. "Since when can NCIS afford this kind of thing? Three hours of this kind of satellite time equals your yearly salary, Gibbs."

Gibbs looked over at him but gave him no satisfaction.

"Signal's still down" said McGee, and Gibbs could hear the tension in his voice. "Alright – I think that's it."

"You _think_?" snapped Gibbs.

"I got it boss. ETA is ten minutes."

______________________________

"At the risk of sounding ungrateful" Jenny said, looking over at Di Nozzo from the passenger seat. "You do understand that you are merely dropping me and leaving."

Tony kept his eyes on the road.

"Di Nozzo ..."

He shifted in his seat as he drove.

"Look" he said. "In the absence of Gibbs, as the teams' senior special agent, this falls to me."

"Does it?"

"Yes it does, ma'am."

"And if I were to dispute that assumption?"

"Then you would be a fool. And you are no fool."

"There is a reason Gibbs isn't here."

"We have a big case of our own."

"No" she said. "That is not why Gibbs isn't here. Although it may be what he chose to tell you. Gibbs is not here because it is my op and I call the shots."

"You take care of the big picture and let me handle the two-reeler; provide the back up."

"You'll be risking your life" she said.

"I've risked it before" he said dismissively.

"You'd do this because he asked you?"

"He's my boss. And this is what I get paid to do."

"And this is my op. So when we get there you are going to turn right back round and go back to NCIS. Your ass is covered."

"I'm not worried about my ass, Jenny" he said. "I'm worried about my boss. And what it will mean if th-"

"Crap" Jen said suddenly.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Do you have any water in the car?" she asked, looking round.

Tony shook his head.

"Government vehicle."

"Pull over at the first gas station" she said, looking at her watch.

Tony looked at her in confusion.

"I forgot to take my meds" she admitted. "And I can't dryswallow to save my life."

Tony smiled to himself.

"But this conversation is not over" she continued.

His smile faded.

__________________________

Abby's eyes widened, and Ducky's eyes cut to the plasma as the computer software tabulated the results. They looked at each other.

"That can't be right" Palmer breathed.

"It's a cocktail from hell" Abby murmured.

"Patch me through to Jethro" Ducky said urgently.

__________________________________________

Tony looked at his watch for the fourth time in as many minutes. They were cutting it close. How long did it take to buy water anyway? Suddenly he was struck by the horrific thought that perhaps she'd had a seizure. He jumped out of the car and ran inside.

___________________________

"Boss ..."

The way McGee enunciated the word made Gibbs' hair stand on end.

"Al-Thani's leaving. _They're_ leaving" the young agent corrected as he watched the activity around the house on 9th street via satellite. "Something's going down."

They watched in stupefied silence as several men walked rapidly out of their house. Within two minutes of their departure the house imploded in a ball of dust and smoke.

Gibbs pulled out his phone just as Ducky's face popped up on the big screen.

"Jethro" he said breathlessly.

Gibbs tried to wrap his head around what he was being told.

"Whatcha saying Duck?"

"I'm saying, Jethro, that the first set of MRIs and the second don't match."

"They gave her fake results Gibbs" Abby said. "To make her believe that she was sick. And the medication she was taking .. it was _causing_ the seizures. It was full of Heparin – which is a blood thinner."

"So you're saying there's nothing wrong with her?" Gibbs clarified.

"The seizures are the result of blood capillaries in the brain rupturing, Jethro. As blood spills into the brain, the area that artery supplied is now deprived of oxygenated blood."

"Bottom line Ducky .."

"She could stroke at any time. I'm not really sure why she hasn't already."

Gibbs's eyes never left the screen as he dialled Di Nozzo's number.

"I'm sorry boss ..." Di Nozzo said tentatively.

Gibbs ran a hand across his face.

"Tell me you didn't lose her Di Nozzo."

At the service station Tony kicked the dust where the car had been.

McGee looked at Gibbs.

"ETA's come and gone boss" he said in confusion. "We have no way of knowing where she's going."

"We do" came Abby's voice.

"Abs?"

"Um ... I may have put an GPS into her pants when she took a shower this morning. Tracking her. Sending the data through to you now."

Gibbs was about to say something when the door to MTAC open and Ziva was there.

"Gibbs – our sources in Interpol's _Fusion Task Force_ have have tied Marzuq Massoud to Al-Thani. They place them together in December of 1990."

"Where?" he asked – afraid he already knew the answer.

"Kuwait" she said.

It was all he needed to spur him to action.

"She'd figured it out. She never intended to go to 9th Street" he said as he headed for the door. "Ziva, pick up Tony. Tobias, you're with me."

"Boss ..." McGee called after him. "She's headed for ..."

"I know where she's headed McGee" was all he said.

__________________________________________

"You son of a bitch" Jenny said, letting the words roll off her tongue slowly as she found him packing a briefcase in his office.

Todd Gelfand raised his eyes slowly – surprise evident in them.

He looked at the gun in her hand.

"Why?" she asked.

Todd smiled in a way that made her sick to her stomach.

"Why not?" he replied. "Should I tell you it was for the money, or for the cause?" He shrugged. "Maybe it was for the hell of it."

"There has to be a reason" she said. "There's always a reason."

He continued to pack his suitcase.

"You'd prefer there to be one. An opportunity came along. I took it."

"Were you bored, Todd?"

"Maybe."

"What? Not enough of a challenge in helping sick people?"

"Apparently not" he said sarcastically.

"How long have you been waiting for this?"

"Longer than you can possibly imagine."

"What did they do to you Todd?" she asked earnestly – wanting to understand.

The neurologist shrugged and ignored her question.

"Didn't think you'd figure it out. You shouldn't have lasted this long at all in fact. But you were ... tenacious. A boring trait. Especially in a woman. And women should never get involved in politics. It's a waste of beauty. You know, if you kill me you won't get what you want from me."

"I don't want or need anything from you" she said.

He looked at her questioningly.

"If I die all I know goes with me" he said, taking a step towards her. "And we both know this is far from over."

"Maybe" she said, cocking her weapon. "Maybe not."

"You have someone else on the inside" he said, realisation dawning. "You always have had."

Jenny smiled.

For a moment the doctor's eyes widened. And then he made a lunge for the gun.

All it took was one bullet.

For a moment she felt as though the world was spinning, and a sense of lethargy settling over her. She stumbled out of Todd's office to the panic that the gunshot in a confined space had brought with it.

"FBI. Everything's under control" she heard a voice say. And in the back of her mind she registered that it was Fornell.

She knew who's strong arms were wrapped round her even before she saw the blue.

"I've got you" he murmured as she collapsed against him.

"I'm fine" she said as her head lolled back.

"No Jen, you're not. You need to see a doctor _now_."

"I think i just _killed_ my doctor" she said just before she felt her eyes close of their own accord.

The last thing she remembered was him picking her up and hurrying down the corridor.


	10. Ten

Abby waited impatiently behind the woman ahead of her in line at the nurse's station. She bounced up and down on her toes, looking over her shoulder; willing her to hurry up and get out of the way.

When the woman had been led away the head nurse looked at her.

"Can I help you?" she asked, taking in her unusual appearance.

"I need to see Jenny Shepard" she said, coming straight to the point. "Gibbs said she collapsed and they were taking her into surgery. He soudned calm but I think I heard fear in his voice. And that made me afraid because .. you know ... gibbs is the strong, silent type. He doesn't do fear. And I tried to drive but my hearse got a flat – as usual. But I'm here now and .. she isn't dying is she? I don't know what I would do. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts, positive thoughts" she repeated, trying to get a handle on her breathing.

"I'm sorry. There are already three people with Miss Shepard. I can't let anybody else in."

But Abby had started to pull her things out of her handbag and onto the counter.

"Okay, I know the rule is that you have to be family to go in there. At least that's what they said when Uncle Charlie got his leg caght in a nutria trap. But Jenny and me, we're tighter than blood! I know you need I.D. I have an I.D. in here. I work at NCIS. That's Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I'm not Homeland Security, like Jenny, but we're on the same side. We're like, you know, sister agencies. I do forensics, and uh… ballistics, chemical analysis, and DNA typing. Uh… here. That's me. I promise. I just – I had to be in court that day. But I swear, that is me!"

She stopped to take a breath as she pushed the ID to the nurse.

"You have to let me in" Abby begged. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened and I wasn't there."

The tears spilled over onto her cheeks.

"You're a really, really good person" she said as she heard the door behind her buzz.

She stopped short at the entrance to Jen's room. Gibbs was hovering outside with Fornell – both of the looking in through the glass window. Inside, the woman who had been ahead of Abby at the counter was deep in conversation with the doctor. She was standing by the side of the bed, holding Jenny's hand in hers.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Emergency contact" was all Fornell said.

Abby watched as the woman stroked Jenny's hand absently as she listened. Watched the way she would look over at her every few seconds. Saw the tears in her eyes as she thanked the doctor.

Abby accosted him as soon as he walked out of the room.

"She's going to be okay, right?"

"She should be fine" he replied.

"I don't want to hear _should be_! I want to hear _will be_!"

"Abby"

She heard Gibbs clearly but she wasn't ready to back down.

"_Should be_ is not positive."

"Enough, Abs" Gibbs said, putting an arm on her shoulder.

"I'm always positive" the doctor began. "But until she wakes, no one knows what's going on inside her brain."

Abby felt Gibbs draw her to him, and she went willingly.

"She's got to be alright Gibbs" she murmured against his jacket.

Gibbs just dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

The three of them looked up as one when the petite woman in the room came to the door.

"Won't you come in?" she asked, holding it ajar and standing aside. "Are you friends of Jenny?"

"FBI" Fornell said as he flashed his badge at her.

"NCIS" Gibbs added without letting Abby go.

"Abby" the goth murmured tearfully.

"Marcia Patterson. I'm Jenny's mother-in-law. _Ex_ mother-in-law" she qualified. "But Jenny has always been more of daughter to me than my own."

She looked over to the bed and tears sprang to her eyes again.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Fornell cleared his throat when he thought Abby was going to speak.

"I'm afraid it's classified."

For a moment the woman's eyes darkened and then a tear slipped down her cheek.

"I've lost two grandchildren. I can't lose Jenny as well."

If she was surprised that Abby wrapped her arms around her she didn't show it. Instead she returned the embrace and led her to the middle of the room, where they watched Jenny together and willed her to wake up.

They were rewarded a few moments later.

"Mom?" a husky voice called from the bed.

The woman moved to the side of the bed and took Jenny's hand in hers. She raised it to her lips for a moment and then pressed it against her cheek.

"I thought we'd agreed you weren't going to do this again" she said, her voice unsteady.

Jen smiled weakly before her eyes drifted over to Abby.

"Hey" she croaked.

"Hey" Abby replied.

A nurse popped her head round the door when she saw the activity.

"Alright. Far too many people in here" she said. "The doctor is on his way to run the preliminary tests. Immediate family only."

Jen's eyes cut to Gibbs' over Abby's shoulder, and the look in them was enough to make her mother-in-law crane her neck to see who she was communicating with. What she saw made her smile and look at Abby questioningly.

Abby smiled secretively and bowed her head.

Gibbs came to stand behind her.

"See you when you feel up to it" he said to Jen.

Jen's eyes softened at the sound of his voice, and she nodded because she couldn't think of anything to say.

"Abby ... " Gibbs called as he turned to leave.

"Stay" Marcia said to her.

Abby looked at Jen, and her face lit up when the redhead nodded her consent.

Marcia waited till the men had gone. And then she looked pointedly at Jen.

"Who was that?" she asked in amused tones.

"_That_" announced Abby happily "is the silver-haired fox."

The older woman stood at the foot of the bed and poured some water into a glass.

"You'll have to tell me more about this fox of yours" she said.

"He likes redheads" Abby announced happily.

_____________________________________________________

Gibbs' phone rang just as they were driving out of the parking lot.

"Boss ..." McGee's breathless voice said.

"Where are you?"

"Korean War Memorial. Is Agent Fornell with you?"

Gibbs looked over to his counterpart – who was taking a phonecall of his own. Their eyes met briefly before each man refocused on his agent at the other end of the line.

"Yeah" he said.

"Good" said McGee. "They just found Agent Sach's body. And another agent from the CIA."

"On our way" Gibbs said as he snapped his phone shut.

"Seems like we're gonna be stuck with each other for a while" Fornell said grimly as he pocketed his own phone.

Gibbs' only answer was to step on the gas.

_______________________________________

SecNav's desire for a quick resolution faded with the discovery, and it soon became evident that armed federal agents across the board and across the nation were being targeted. In an investigation that spanned several east coast states in the course of four days, the bodies of another three agents were found – each one more brutally murdered than the one before. But there were too many suspects spread out over too many places, and in the end it was one of McGee's programs that cross-checked registered owners with telephone calls and emails sent and received that narrowed down their search to four people hiding out in a building in downtown Maryland. The case ended in a gunfight that left another FBI agent dead, a member of the CIA seriously wounded, and Tony with a bullet lodged in his shoulder blade.

By the time everything was wrapped up Jen had been released from the hospital, and all Gibbs or Abby could find out was that she was attending a workshop in an undisclosed location. Apparently something big was going down; but nobody was talking.

And Fornell had no markers left to pull in.

______________________________________________

One week later Tony was sitting at his desk, complaining about a very uncomfortable shoulder when the elevator slid open. He did a double take when Jen walked out. In a dark suit and heels, with her hair pulled into a chignon and with sunglasses on her face, he almost didn't recognise her for a second.

She nodded but kept walking, and the rest of the team followed her with their eyes as she walked up the stairs and headed for the Director's office. One man walked ahead of her; another two men walked behind her.

"Think the boss knows she's he-" Tony asked as they disappeared from view.

He was still phrasing his sentence when the elevator opened again and Fornell and two of his people walked into the bullpen. Preceded by their Director. They too nodded and kept walking.

The elevator slid open one more time and three more suits came out of it.

"CIA?" asked McGee.

"Interpol" answered Ziva as she nodded curtly at one of the posse.

"Anybody else get the idea that we're missing the party?" McGee

asked as he got to his feet and came round his desk.

"Maybe we should gatecrash" Tony said.

"That won't be necessary. Party starts in five" Gibbs said as he appeared in their midst with Abby in tow.

He rooted in his top drawer for a moment – pocketing something that the others couldn't make out.

"Lets go" he said.

The team followed him up the stairs.

"Abs ..." he warned just before they entered the Director's office.

"I know" she said demurely. "Hands to myself."

He nodded once and then swung the door open.

Jen stared at him, lost in a sea of intense blue for a moment too long - until she dragged her eyes away; suddenly crippled by the overwhelming feeling that ill fortune had thrown Gibbs in her path. She knew he'd been caught up in a high profile case. She herself had been wrapped up in her own agency's issues - only sparing him the odd fleeting thought when she allowed herself the time to. But now he was here, standing in front of her; staring at her with something that made her pulse quicken of its own accord – even if what he was revealing was carefully guarded. She only sensed it because she felt the same. And the thought killed her - because she knew that her job was about to get in the way.

She forced her pulse to still and turned to the situation at hand.

"Agent Gibbs" Jen she said with an incline of her head.

He nodded as he took a seat next to Fornell.

The man they recognised as the Head of Homeland Security spoke as one of his men circulated documents.

"Non-disclosure agreements" he said as the people at table perused them.

He looked at Jen briefly.

"Agent Shepard ..." he said – effectively giving her the floor.

Jen tapped a few keys on her laptop and started a powerpoint presentation on the plasma.

"Our intelligence tells us that the operation has moved to Syria."

Photos of Al-Thani and Massoud flashed across the screen.

She paused, and her eyes met Gibbs' again. He didn't need anyone to tell him what the next words out of her mouth were going to be.

"Marzuq Massoud is working for us" she said. "Has been working for us for the past six years. We've been on Al-Thani's trail for since 2002."

As she gave more detail Gibbs let his mind travel over her form discreetly. She looked over at him once or twice – and he knew that she was aware of him. But there was no emotion on his face. Her words washed over his him but he blocked them out. He knew where this was headed.

After a while he saw her step back and take her seat again.

Her boss spoke next.

"Agent Shepard will be heading up the task for-"

"In Syria?" Abby interrupted, panicky overtones in her voice.

The Director's eyes narrowed for a moment, and he shared a look with Vance before he continued.

"Outside of the US" he said. "And that is all we are prepared to divulge. The whereabouts and safety of Agent Shepard and her team are a matter of national security. One that we are not prepared to take lightly. Or to risk. We came here today to debrief you, and to thank you for assisting Agent Shepard. But as of this moment, interagency co-operation on this matter will cease."

He stood from his chair and buttoned his jacket.

"I think this meeting is adjourned" he said, reaching for Vance's hand. "Agent Shepard ..." he said, indicating that he wanted her to precede him out of the room.

"I need a few minutes, Sir" she said as she closed her laptop.

"You have two" he said as he shook hands with Vance and the

other directors.

The room emptied rapidly.

Vance stood behind his desk, Gibbs hovered by the door, and Abby hadn't moved from her seat.

"Abby .." Gibbs said, motioning that she needed to leave as well.

But Jenny reached across the table and placed her hand over the young woman's.

"Will I even hear from you?" Abby asked sadly.

"I don't know" Jenny said.

"Will you be safe?"

"I don't know Abby. And don't ask me what I do know – because I don't know that either."

"You sound like McGee" Abby said, looking away from her.

"I'll miss you" Jenny said, as she turned her face towards her

Abby threw herself into her arms.

"I'll miss you too" she said before she extricated herself from the hug and walked out of the room.

Jen pulled herself to her full height and nodded at Director Vance. as she pulled her laptop bag from the conference table and left the room.

Gibbs stood to the side and held the door open for her. He closed it behind both of them.

"Jen .." he said as they stood together in the outer office.

She turned green eyes full of pain and feeling onto him.

"Don't make this difficult Jethro" she begged.

"Fair enough ..." he said.

For a moment her hand found his in spite of her admonition, and he pressed it tightly. Resisting the urge to do more.

Then he put his hand in his pocket and handed her a piece of paper. Jen looked at him for a moment, and then she looked at what was on the slip.

Her eyes widened.

"I found him" he said quietly.


	11. Eleven

The chill seemed to permeate his bones. And yet he knew that it was nothing in comparison to the dank earth she was currently lying on, her body shielded by foliage.

He second-guessed himself again for a moment.

When she'd walked out of Abby's lab without a backward glance he'd needed something to channel his frustration and his anger into. It had seemed logical to call Fornell and have him get the information. He hadn't spared much thought to what he'd do with it once he had it. He'd just wanted to know where the man was. _Who_ he was. When he knew he'd stored it away because there had been other things to think about. When she'd walked away the second time he hadn't hesitated. He'd given the information to her because he felt that she too deserved to know what he knew. But the moment he had he'd feared for her. Feared that she'd do exactly what she was about to.

He wasn't sure why he felt like this.

_He_ had done it.

But perhaps that was the point – she wasn't him. His revenge had been swift. She'd been living with this for years. It had occurred to him that she had the same clearance as Fornell. Maybe more. If she'd really wanted the information she would have found it, one way or the other. And he had to ask himself why she hadn't. If he'd put her in a position where, faced with the location, she could no longer hide.

It had taken her two days - and for all of those two days he'd watched her from a distance. Determined not to let her do this alone if she chose to act. And now here she was. Rifle in front of her. Less than seventy-five feet and one retaining wall between her and the man who had robbed her of her family.

Gibbs suppressed another shiver and inched forwards.

"Jethro."

It wasn't a question, and as he sidled up next to her his eyes asked her how she knew.

"You've been following me for two days" she said with a small smile, her eyes boring into his.

Gibbs gave a tight nod and said nothing. Merely took the binoculars she was offering and raised them to his eyes.

He felt pressure on his arm and turned to look at her.

"Thank you" she said gently.

And he didn't need to ask what for – because it was all in her eyes.

As the minutes stretched and stretched Jen snuck a look at Gibbs. She closed her eyes against the sense of security that his presence had brought with it and let it wash over her and give her strength. It was the day, the hour, quite possibly almost the minute – and she was grateful that he was there. That she didn't have to do this alone as she'd had to do so many other things in her life. It wasn't a time for talking, and yet too many things were threatening to bubble to the surface and she felt she needed control over at least one of them.

She touched him gently on the arm again and leaned over and kissed him on the shoulder before he could turn around. Gibbs touched his jaw against her head in response for a brief moment, and then raised the binoculars to his eyes again.

A few seconds later he passed them over without a word.

Jen looked through them.

And there he was. Her quarry. Walking by the pool. Talking on the phone. A cup of something warm in his hand.

She raised the rifle and looked through the scope.

And then she faltered.

Gibbs raised the binoculars once again and understood immediately that it just wasn't going to happen.

A tiny body wrapped itself around the man's waist as he sat down on a chaise longue. And then clambered onto his lap. He ruffled the child's hair and together they followed the sound of another voice coming from their left. A very pregnant woman entered Jen's sights, and she watched as the man rubbed the belly and kissed it when his partner stopped next to him and dropped a hand on his shoulder.

Jen lowered the rifle to the ground with hands that had a slight shake to them, and bowed her head over it.

"I can't do this" she murmured.

"You don't have to."

Gibbs laid his hand on her hair, his heart aching for her, and there was silence for a long while before he spoke again.

"Put the past to rest, Jenny" he said.

She looked at him long and hard.

"Does it ever really rest, Jethro?" she asked gently.

He thought for a moment before answering.

"No. But some people need someone to hate."

"Not me."

They shared an intense look – and Jen felt as if he was trying to look into her soul.

"Then let it go" he said.

He waited for a moment longer and then expressed the opinion that they needed to make a move.

She acquiesced without a word.

The drive back to her house was silent and fraught with sadness. He'd debated letting her drive, but knew she needed the sense of control. Had been surprised when she'd asked him to take the wheel. And now they were standing on her front doorstep and she surprised him again.

"Can I offer you a drink?" she asked. "I don't think I should drink alone. I might not stop."

He searched her face for a moment and then stepped in after her. The bags that lined the hallway brought him up short. A reminder that she was leaving that left him feeling unsettled.

"When are you leaving?" he asked, indicating them with his head.

"Tomorrow" she said quietly as she turned to face him. "Jethro ..."

"Yeah?" he asked, his eyes still on the bags.

"Thank y-"

"Not necessa-" he said, almost abruptly.

Her fingers against his lips silenced him.

"It _is_ necessary. You've done more for me that anyone has in a long time. And your heart was in the right place – even if you don't think it was."

Gibbs looked at her – not sure if it was her words or the sensation of her fingers against his mouth that were having an impact on him. He reached for her other hand and raised it against his cheek; leaning into it but not speaking.

"How's Abby?" she asked after a moment.

"Abby's a survivor. Like you are."

"Like you are too" she said, running her thumb across his skin.

He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently – communicating what he wanted that way. Knowing that she'd pick up on it. Putting the ball in her court.

Jen's eyes cut to his and she weighed what she wanted to say for a long while before she said it.

"I've never wanted to ask anyone to wait for me" she began slowly. "But I ..."

The brush of his lips against hers elicited the tiniest of gasps – but she had her answer. Gibbs looked at her for a moment, and then his hand slowly drifted up and down her back. Jen released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding as she felt him nuzzle his nose into the crook of her neck. The sensation of his lips against her throat made her mouth fall open, and she pulled away to look into his eyes.

The desire in them blew her away.

She cupped his face and drew his mouth to hers, and the kiss lingered for as long as the air in their lungs would let them. When they finally broke apart he pulled her against him, running his hand under collar of her t-shirt and stretching it as far as it would go. He dabbed the tip of his tongue against what he could reach of her shoulder and then drew it slowly up the side of her neck. Not stopping till he reached her ear. Teasing her earlobe.

Making her moan.

Jen's hips arched forwards, and it was his turn to moan as they collided into his own. The sound of her heavy breathing in his ear was more of a turn on than he'd been expecting, and when she reached for his belt and brushed him unexpectedly, his instinctive reaction was to pull her hand back and buck against it. The feeling intensified as her hand pressed harder, and when he felt her ankles curl round the back of his, he pulled her face to his and pulled it open with his fingers. Their tongues collided and writhed together just as surely as their bodies did – grinding against one another with an abandon that neither one of them had experienced in years.

Jen smiled against his mouth.

"God, Jethro ..." she whispered.

The sense of abandon took Gibbs by surprise. He hadn't intended anything like this; not a dry rub against her front door, and certainly not a dry rub against her front door when she was leaving in less than twelve hours. But the sexual energy radiating off both of them was hard to ignore - and even harder to resist. He couldn't help himself, and if he was reading her correctly, neither could she. He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to look in her eyes.

What he saw told him it wouldn't be long.

She angled her hand, the heel pressing him in just the right place, and in just the right way to drag a moan from his lips as his eyes dropped closed. He slid a thigh in between hers and she rolled herself against it, her breath catching in her throat before long. He felt the tightening of muscles in his stomach and before he knew it he was shuddering his release and holding onto her like a life line, as her fingers dug into his arms - his name nothing more than a whisper against his cheek.

Gibbs felt Jen exhale against him, and for a moment he wondered whether there was going to be awkwardness. But one look later he knew that there wasn't going to be any. He kissed her forehead and stroked her back before she settled against his chest – sure that he wasn't the only one smiling.

"Hey" she said after a while, her fingers curling in his hooded top, "want to take a shower?"

Gibbs smiled.

"Yeah."

"Upstairs" she said. "Last door on the right."

He nodded.

"Jethro ..." she called as he started up the stairs.

He turned to face her, and found her right behind him. She kissed him lightly.

"I'll fix us a drink" she said, her fingers lingering on his face for a moment.

Gibbs watched her walk into the study and then trotted up the stairs.

When he came downstairs again she was sitting at her desk, sifting through papers.

"Hi" she said as she got to her feet. "Bourbon?"

He took the glass she was holding out, but his eyes were only for her. They sipped it in silence, standing close. Very aware of one another, but neither one of them sure what to say or do next.

"There's a leak in your bathroom" he said after a while.

"I know" she said with a shrug. "Contractor came in, brought all the stuff, did two hours or work and then never came back. I've been trying to find someone to come in and fix it today – but what are the odds of that, huh?"

"I'll take care of it" he said, looking at his watch – gauging how much time he needed to do the job.

"Is there anything you _can't_ do?" she asked, surprise in her tone.

"Nope."

He grinned, draining his glass.

"See you in a few" he said, kissing her soundly on the mouth and disappearing back into the hallway.

There was something oddly reassuring, she decided, in the feeling that she was downstairs making her final preparations and he upstairs dealing with the domestic issues so that she didn't have to.

She turned back to her papers with a smile on her face.

_______________________________________________________________

When he came downstairs again it was evening and she was packing a briefcase.

She looked up when she saw him leaning against the door.

Her hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh my God ..." she said, looking at the clock. "What time is it? I never even offered you lunch."

Gibbs shrugged.

"No _distractions_" he said with a knowing smile "means a job gets done faster. May I?"

He indicated the drinks cabinet and she nodded.

"Fix me one too?" she asked. "I have just one phonecall left to make and then I think I'm done."

Gibbs nodded and poured out the drinks - watching as she dialled the number and waited on the line until the person answered. She ran a hand over the back of her neck and rotated it a little bit. And perhaps it was that which drew him to her. He pushed her hair aside as she finalised arrangements for pick up in the morning, and ran his lips up her neck.

"Mmmmm" she said, covering the mouthpiece and turning her face towards him.

He covered her mouth with his own.

"Yes, I'm here" she said after a long moment, tearing her mouth reluctantly away from his and returning her attention to the caller.

Gibbs ran a hand down her shoulder. He pressed her hand in his for a moment and then moved his own against her midriff. Jen leaned back into him as his fingers slipped under the clothes and splayed across her abdomen. And when his hand travelled upwards and cupped one of her breasts she had to focus that much harder on the conversation.

"That's perfectly fine. Briefing is expected to begin at 0900, with an eye to leaving at 1300. Right. No, not that I've been told. Mmmmhmmm. That works for me. Have Peterson alert the ... no ... that's not the way I want it done. Right ... have Peterson alert them just as we're coming in to land. That's fine. I'll see you in the morning."

She put the receiver down and dropped her head back onto Gibbs' shoulder as he insinuated a hand between her bra and her skin and made a nipple pebble.

"Are you staying?" she whispered in his ear as she turned in his arms and wound her arms around his neck.

"If you want me to" he said, raising one of her legs to his waist and rubbing against her core gently.

"Bed's upstairs" she said softly, as she took his hand and led him out of the study.

They perched on her bed silently watching each other undress - the air heavy with the chemistry between them.

"I should really admire your handiwork first" she said, nodding in the direction of the bathroom.

"Later" he said as he pulled his hoodie and his t-shirt over his head and divested himself of what remained of his clothes.

Jen rested back on the pillows for a moment – and then she reached for him. Gibbs moaned as she flipped him onto his back and climbed on top of him, her tongue rasping against his neck. But what started as long gentle swipes morphed into a frenzy of nips against his skin moments later, and before he knew it things had escalated. For both of them.

"Easy Jen ..." he said gently, hoisting her off him a little to make sure they didn't get a repeat performance of the hallway a few hours earlier.

She felt the blood rush to her cheeks in embarassment, but he pulled her deeply into his embrace and as she lifted her head to meet his gaze he reached up to kiss her. They kissed deeply, slowly, with great longing, and as she bit his lower lip and sucked it into her mouth she felt him rise and press urgently against her.

She wasn't surprised to find herself pinned underneath him a few seconds later, and she shuddered when he returned the compliment – licking her neck and nibbling her earlobes. When the wetness moved downwards she sucked in a breath. He licked each nipple in turn while caressing her breasts with his fingers. Slowly his tongue travelled to her navel, and the knowledge of where he would go next had her aching her back and pushing herself into him. She thought she might actually scream her frustration out loud as his hands explored her thighs – but when they made their way under her buttocks and lifted them to allow him better access, her fingers bunched the sheets.

It was a testament to his skill, she decided hazily, that within moments of him starting his hungry assault heat built up and spreads outwards. She was vaguely aware that she was holding his head in a death grip, and that his strong hands were anchoring her in place - but none of that mattered to either of them as he teased and traced her edges.

"Jethro please .." she begged when she couldn't take it anymore.

The need in her voice only triggered his own, and as much as he'd planned to make her fall apart on her own first, the way she said his name quickly put an end to all of that.

He crawled agonisingly slowly up her body, placing gentle kisses along his way. Her breath hitched in her throat again when he reached her breast bone and she breathed his name out again. Even more pleadingly, if that was possible.

He kissed along her jaw, before covering her mouth with his. She lifted her hips and wrapped her long legs around him, and they groaned together when he sank into her. With her heat surrounding him, he caught her hand as it made its way to him; trapping it above her head, linking their fingers together. Her eyes grew wider and darker as they moved together in the stillness.

"Jenny .. Jenny" he murmured as he climaxed in her arms just a few seconds shy of her.

Gibbs lowered his head to the pillow for a long moment – the intimacy and the nearness keeping all other dark thoughts at bay. But it only lasted until she pulled his face towards her and he saw tears glistening in her eyes.

"Don't .." he said as he placed gentle kisses there.

He didn't feel ready to admit – to himself or to her – that she'd got so far under his skin that he was going to have a hard time being away from her.

As she succumbed to the tug of sleep she was aware of his arms wrapped around her. The thought of disengaging herself never even crossed her mind.

Jen awoke a few hours later and immediately became aware that he was no longer in bed. A look around the room revealed that he was standing at her bedroom window looking out onto the street. She slipped out of bed and padded over to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and was gratified when he raised his arm and pulled her into his side.

They stood there in silence for a while.

"Any idea when you're coming back?" he asked.

He was careful to keep his voice neutral, but the look in her eyes told him she could see right through him. Could see that she'd breached his defences.

"Missing me already?" she replied – her attempt at humour eliciting a small smile from him.

He turned to face her, tracing the contours of her face with his fingertips with a tenderness he didn't believe himself capable of of any longer. He lowered his mouth to hers as she drew him to her, and allowed her to lead him back to bed.

As they held each other in the darkness she kissed him again and then placed her head on his chest – finding solace in the steady heartbeat.

"I'll be home as soon as I can."

_______________________________________

**Author's note:**

Wanted to give a call out to _Morgan_ and _Verity_ at the end of this fic. Thanks to both of you for lending an ear and a hand where necessary.

Now .. I know this is going to come as a shock to many ... but my next story is going to be _babyfic_. ME Wofford believes that the reason for this is that I am broody – which may well be the case. But ... ahem ... be that as it may, the next story will be about Gibbs and a baby. There will be a bit of angst – because a newborn can hardly just drop into his lap - but I think the awww moments will more than make up for that.

Thanks to all the people that followed this. I love all the PMs and the emails and the general sense or camaraderie. It makes me happy that I decided to take up writing again.

xx


End file.
